In Crimea, the occupiers planned to turn a submarine into a museum

The occupiers decided not to write off the only Ukrainian submarine but to turn it into a museum. The submarine, which was captured by Russians during the annexation of Crimea in 2014, may appear at the berth in the bay after additional work and paperwork.

This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

According to the publication, we are talking about the submarine B-435 (this is how it was designated before it was transferred to Ukraine during the division of the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR). It is planned to become a museum exhibit.

However, even the approximate opening date of the future museum remains unknown. Despite the fact that the submarine will lose its combat function, it will still have to be classified by the Maritime Register of Shipping.

As noted in the media, in 2024 Zaporizhzhia was put in the dock of Sevmorzavod to repair the underwater part and convert it into a museum. It is planned that after the work is completed and the submarine receives the status of a museum object, it will again bear the old designation "B-435" and will be docked in Sevastopol Bay.

The submarine was built in 1970 in Leningrad at the Admiralty Plant. In 1997, after the division of the Black Sea Fleet, it became part of the Ukrainian Navy and remained the only submarine in the fleet.

In March 2014, Zaporizhzhia, along with other Ukrainian ships, was captured by the Russian military. Its future fate was uncertain for a long time: both its utilization and transformation into a museum were discussed.

In 2019, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a tender for the submarine's disposal, but it was later canceled. In August of the same year, a tender was launched again to find a contractor to decommission the boat, but these plans were not realized either. Now the occupiers have made their final decision - Zaporizhzhia will become a museum.

In June, the Russians used the captured large amphibious assault ship Konstantin Olshansky as a source of spare parts for their fleet. During reconnaissance in Yuzhnaya Bay in occupied Sevastopol, agents spotted this BMS along with the supply vessels of the 205th Detachment of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. According to their sources, equipment is regularly removed from the ship to keep the invaders' fleet in working order.

Анна Бальчінос