Ukraine claims sinking another Russian ship in Black Sea
- 6 March, 07:05
Seven Russian sailors have been killed and six others were injured as Ukraine hit and sunk yet another ship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, Ukraine’s intelligence agency said on Tuesday. The agency said it attacked the Sergei Kotov vessel near the Kerch strait in Russian-annexed Crimea early on Tuesday using naval drones. The vessel, which was on patrol, suffered damage to the stern, right and left sides, then sank, claimed the agency, known as the HUR, according to the report.
"Right now this ship is on the seabed," Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said, adding a helicopter may have been on board.
A video shared on social media seems to depict the moment when the ship was struck. Russia has not officially acknowledged the ship's downing, though certain Russian bloggers have indicated the loss of Sergei Kotov. Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) stated in a Telegram post that 52 crew members were successfully evacuated. Ukrainian sources suggest that Sergei Kotov's vessel played a significant role in the attack on Snake Island during the initial days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In a similar incident last month, the Caesar Kunikov, another Russian ship, was sunk in a drone attack just south of the city of Yalta.
