Russian officers are suspected of carrying out sabotage on submarines in Putin’s Black Sea Fleet. The once-feared naval force has been battered and suffered staggering losses since Russia launched its full-scale invasion over three years ago.
Ukraine says it has destroyed or disabled around a third of the fleet’s 80 vessels, using a combination of waterborne drones and missiles. These include the Moskva – once the fleet’s flagship – as well as the Rostov-on-Don Kilo-class submarine, Ropucha-class landing crafts, missile boats and more besides.
Now reports are emerging that submarines belonging to the Black Sea Fleet based in Novorossiysk are suffering from constant mechanical breakdowns.
A source told the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel that since 2024, the submarine fleet has been plagued by technical problems.
The sheer amount and frequency of the breakdowns have led to suspicions that the submarines are being sabotaged.
However, the finger of blame is not being pointed at Ukraine in this instance.
The investigative channel wrote: “It is not [Ukrainian] saboteurs who are under suspicion, but the personnel of the fleet.”
They added: “The fleet command, with the participation of divisional mechanical engineers and the commander of military unit 80515 [the 4th Separate Submarine Brigade], Captain 1st Rank Skarga, are focused on constantly fixing the breakdowns.
“They prefer not to talk about the reasons for what is happening.
“According to the source, all the breakdowns have obvious signs of interference: a loose lubricator drive, a gearbox failure, etc.
“The main suspects are the junior officers who arrived to continue their service.”
The VChK-OGPU Telegram Channel is said to be operated by the former Rosbalt journalists Alexander Shvarev and Alisher Abdullayev.
The channel writes extensively about Russia’s law enforcement and intelligence communities.
It comes as Putin faces growing calls to sue for peace from within the Russian army, as casualties continue their inexorable rise.
A senior officer serving on the Kursk front told the pro-Kremlin military blogger Maxim Kalashnikov: “”I would stop the war altogether. I would just say: ‘That’s it! Stop!'”