Russia removed the sailors from the Avmiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier and sent them to the front - Forbes

Part of the ship's crew was transformed into a mechanized battalion called "frigate" as part of the 1st Guards Tank Army, which fought in Kharkiv region and later in the Pokrovsky direction. The Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov", which has not gone into the sea for eight years, will probably never be used again for its intended purpose. This explains why in recent months the Kremlin, as reported, overtook the sailors from this ship to the Land Forces and sent them to fight in Ukraine.

About it writes military observer forbes David ex. This step emphasizes the acute lack of human resources in the Russian army at a time when the full -scale war against Ukraine has been going on for 31 months. It also emphasizes the abandoned state of the largest warships of the Russian Navy, most of which have remained since the Cold War.

According to the Moklasen open source analyst, Admiral Kuznetsov's crew, which has about 1,500 people, was transformed into a mechanized battalion called "frigate" within the 1st Guards Army. The battalion fought in Kharkiv region, and later moved to the Pokrovsky direction in eastern Ukraine. There is information that one of the former aircraft carrier sailors, Oleg Sosedov, disappeared during the Russian offensive in Kharkiv region on July 23.

The Kremlin continues to use any means to replenish its troops to compensate for monthly losses in Ukraine, which is about 30,000 soldiers, says David ex. An alternative to such radical measures may be the announcement of general mobilization, which is a politically dangerous step for Putin's regime. Meanwhile, Admiral Kuznetsov, who was supposed to go to the sea in the spring of 2022, still remains in the port of Murmansk.

During his 39-year history, the aircraft carrier has only made seven patrols, the last of which-near the shores of Syria in 2016, where two fighter jets were lost due to the accident. The ship continues to suffer from numerous damage. In 2018, he suffered serious injuries when the PD-50 Dok-50 was flooded during repair, and in 2019 a fire occurred on the ship.

Despite these incidents, the Kremlin decided to restore the ship, although the next fire in December 2022 delayed the return of the aircraft carrier to the sea. Against the background of the inability of the Russian industry to build new large ships, "Admiral Kuznetsov" risks staying on the shore of Murmansk forever. Its sailors, like many other Russians, die in Ukraine as a result of the same aggression that deprived the aircraft carrier equipment required for its further operation.