According to information published by the UK MoD on July 26, 2022, Russian reports of a Ukrainian ship being hit in the 24 July Kalibr cruise missile strike on Odesa seem incorrect.
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Ukrainian Port of Odesa after the Russian strike (Picture source: Business Ukraine Mag)
On 24 July 2022, Russian cruise missiles hit the dock-side in Ukraine's Odesa Port. The Russian MoD claimed to have hit a Ukrainian warship and a stockpile of anti-ship missiles with a Kalibr cruise missile. There is no indication that such targets were at the location the missiles hit.
Russia almost certainly perceives anti-ship missiles as a key threat that is limiting the effectiveness of their Black Sea Fleet. This has significantly undermined the overall invasion plan, as Russia cannot realistically attempt an amphibious assault to seize Odesa.
About the Kalibr missile
The Kalibr is a family of cruise missiles developed by Russia's Novator design bureau. The Kalibr missiles were first presented to the public at the International Aviation and Space Show in 1993 (MAKS-93) held in the Moscow region of the Russian Federation.
On submarines, the missiles are launched from torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber from a depth of 30-40 m. And on surface ships, they are launched from unified sub-deck vertical launchers or from deck-mounted launchers.
According to some reports, the missiles are capable of shooting at sea targets up to 375 km away, and at land targets up to 2,600 km away. However, other sources claim that the range of the missile does not exceed 2,000 km.
Their length varies from 6.2 to 8.2 meters. Their weight ranges from 1,200 to 2,300 kg. At the same time, the mass of the warhead can range from 200 to 450 kg. The warhead is high-explosive.
