The Russian Navy is withdrawing the Dmitry Donskoi, the world’s largest nuclear submarine by displacement, from active duty, Russian and Ukrainian media reported on February 6, 2023, Kyiv Post said.
A Cold War giant
The Dmitry Donskoi is a Typhoon-class ballistic missile submarine, designed during the Cold War to carry intercontinental nuclear missiles and strike targets anywhere in the world undetected. It is to be struck from the Russian Navy’s list of warships.
Russian state media had reported in 2022 that the submarine was being considered for decommissioning.
Last of its class
The Typhoon class, known in Russia as Project 941 Akula, was the largest submarine class ever built. Six were built in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and most were scrapped after the Cold War. The Dmitry Donskoi, the lead vessel, was the last to remain in service and was used for years as a test platform for Russia’s Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Russia’s newer Borei-class submarines now carry its sea-based nuclear deterrent.
A navy under strain
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has suffered significant losses in the war against Ukraine, including the sinking of its flagship, the cruiser Moskva, in April 2022, after Ukraine said it hit the ship with Neptune missiles.
Sources
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