Russia has 'systemic problems' with fleet, Navy spokesperson says after Ursa Major explosion
Russia has "systemic problems" with maintaining its fleet, Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said in a television broadcast on Dec. 24.
Pletenchuk's comments came the day after the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean Sea following an explosion onboard. The cause of the explosion is not yet known.
"(T)hey have systemic problems with maintenance," Pletenchuk said on air, as reported by Ukrinform.
"At least, they should have them, given that such vessels usually have a lot of foreign-made elements, and usually it concerns the engine room."
The explosion aboard Ursa Major reportedly occurred in the ship's engine rooms just after midday on Dec. 23, causing the vessel to list between Spain and Algeria. Fourteen crew members were rescued from the sinking ship, and two remain missing.
Pletenchuk said Russia faces difficulties with both civilian and combat vessels.
"The Russians have a systemic problem," Pletenchuk said.
"It is quite expectedly reflected in the general condition of their fleet, regardless of whether the fleet is conventionally civilian or combat. If information cannot be disseminated so quickly and easily with the combat fleet, because it is a more closed structure, then what concerns the conventionally civilian shipping of the Russians is on the surface, and sometimes even below the surface."
Ursa Major was built in 2009 and was placed under sanctions after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, due to its role in supplying cargo to the Russian military.
The Russian independent news outlet Meduza, citing OSINT analysts, suggested the ship could be part of a Russian convoy evacuating military equipment from Syria, but this has not been confirmed.
