Russia Bulldozes Its Own Black Sea Fleet HQ After Ukrainian Storm Shadow Strike

Russian occupation authorities in Sevastopol have commenced the demolition of the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, according to reports from the partisan movement Crimean Wind on February 25.

Heavy machinery has been deployed to the central hill of the city to dismantle the remnants of the structure, which served as the primary command-and-control hub for Russian naval operations until it was neutralized by a Ukrainian missile strike in late 2023.

The facility was rendered inoperable on September 22, 2023, during a Ukrainian special operation designated “Crab Trap.” According to the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine, the strike involved two Storm Shadow cruise missiles that hit the building during a high-level meeting of naval leadership.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, as cited by its then-chief Kyrylo Budanov, previously reported that the attack resulted in at least nine fatalities and 16 injuries, including high-ranking Russian generals.

While the Russian Ministry of Defense initially confirmed the death of only one serviceman, the building was immediately abandoned following the strike due to catastrophic structural damage and fire.

The headquarters was a site of historical significance, built in 1958 on the foundations of a 1900 palace designed by architect V.A. Feldman. The building had undergone internal modernization between 2014 and 2018 to upgrade communication nodes and security systems following Russia’s attempted annexation of the peninsula.

Before the 2023 strike, the site functioned as the central coordination point for Russian maritime maneuvers in the Black Sea. Since the attack, the Russian command has reportedly relocated its primary assets and administrative functions to Novorossiysk or fortified underground bunkers to mitigate the threat of continued Ukrainian long-range strikes.

Earlier on February 21, Ukrainian strike drones targeted two rare Soviet-era Be-12 amphibious anti-submarine aircraft at the Yevpatoriia Aviation Repair Plant in temporarily occupied Crimea, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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