Vladimir Putin‘s Pacific nuclear submarine base was damaged this week by a tsunami caused by a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake, according to analysts.
A pier at the high-security Rybachiy base in Russia’s far east appears buckled out of shape, apparently torn from its moorings after the huge waves struck on Wednesday.
The secretive base, located in Kamchatka’s Avacha Bay, stores the bulk of Russia’s Pacific Fleet ballistic missile submarines.
Images taken by SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites operated by Umbra Space and seen by experts show the dramatic impact of the tsunami, which reached the coast within 15 minutes of the seabed quake.
One pier, clearly visible in pre-quake imagery dated July 17, now lies twisted at a sharp angle, a structural shift that experts say is consistent with tsunami damage.
A surface vessel appears to have been moored at the time of impact, but there was no submarine alongside.
In spite of that, maritime analysts say the development raises troubling questions about the base’s vulnerability.
Tom Sharpe, a retired Royal Navy commander, told The Telegraph that the pier is at a ‘terrible angle’. He questioned: ‘If the base assumption is that a wave got in there and bent that jetty then yes, what else did it do?’





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