(Reuters) – Ukraine destroyed a Russian warship off the coast of occupied Crimea in a naval drone operation that breached one side of the vessel on Wednesday and caused it to start sinking, the military spy agency and the Kiev Armed Forces said.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, which said earlier that it had destroyed six drones in the Black Sea. The Kremlin refused to comment.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with the intelligence unit of the Ministry of Defense, destroyed the large landing ship Tsezar Kunikov. It was in Ukraine’s territorial waters near Alupka at the time of the attack,” the military said in Telegram.
The Black Sea resort town of Alupka is not far from Yalta, on the southern tip of Crimea, which Russian forces seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency published images on Telegram that allegedly show several naval drones approaching a large ship at night and at least one large explosion.
Reuters was able to verify that the ship in the video is the Tsezar Kunikov of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, based on its main mast, antenna, bridge and deck. The location and date on which the footage was taken could not be independently verified.
Some of the images at the end appear to show extensive damage, with the ship tipping heavily to one side.
“In short, the Tsezar Kunikov suffered a critical break in the port side and began to sink,” the GUR agency said in a statement.
The Project 775 warship, one of Russia’s newest vessels, has a crew of 87 and has taken part in wars in Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, GUR said in its statement.
A Ukrainian news agency published several videos showing a column of smoke rising over the sea off the southern coast of Crimea, with helicopters flying overhead.
Ukraine has been using unmanned navy drones packed with explosives to attack Russian warships and try to drive them out of parts of the Black Sea, enabling Ukraine to open a shipping corridor along a traditionally important export route.
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***