Ukrainian Intelligence secured secret data om russian K-555 and Borey-A–Class

Defence affairs analysis

A few generally known facts on the recently inducted submarine nuclear weapons carrier, and how the intelligence complements the picture

Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) has announced that it obtained confidential documentation on the K-555 Dmitry Pozharsky nuclear submarine, a Project 995A Borey-class vessel recently commissioned into the russian Navy during a ceremony personally attended by Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin.

The acquired documents reveal critical details that highlight the shortcomings of these russian nuclear submarines, debunking long-standing Kremlin imperialist myths about their capabilities.

As Defense Express would like to emphasize, at first glance, the fragments of the documentation released by DIU hardly reveal any unremarkable features. However, the intelligence service mentioned the presence of a deformed radio beacon on the K-555 Dmitry Pozharsky.

This detail in itself is quite revealing. The device is vital for emergencies: in the event of an accident while submerged, the crew must raise it to the surface in order to transmit a distress signal to shore. For example, if it suffered something similar to the incident with the ill-fated K-141 Kursk.

Western observers have already pointed out that this submarine was commissioned only a year after starting sea trials —an extraordinarily short period for a vessel of this class. DIU's report effectively answers how the russians achieved this rushed timeline: at the cost of "technical limitations and operational vulnerabilities" listed in the full classified study.