Ukraine: sunk a Russian warship in occupied Crimea

A Russian warship sank off the Crimea peninsula after Ukrainian underwater drones attacked it, according to Ukrainian officials. The Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR announced the hit on Telegram. The ship reportedly suffered hits to the stern, port, and starboard sides.

Although the sinking has not been officially confirmed, the pro-Russian military blog Belorussky Silovik reported that the ship had been destroyed. A similar post was made by the influential blog Rybar, which is closely associated with the Moscow Ministry of Defence.

Following the drone attacks, the Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Strait Bridge, was closed for hours during the night.

The Sergei Kotov, a small warship referred to as a corvette, was part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and served as a heavy patrol boat.

Circulating video footage allegedly shows the boat being hit during the night. The video depicts a ship in the bay of Feodosia in south-east Crimea firing at targets in the water until it is rocked by a heavy explosion.

Notably, last autumn, there were reports of a drone attack on the same boat, resulting in severe damage.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet operates a total of four such patrol boats, which are among the most modern ships in the squadron and were launched in 2017.

These corvettes, powered by German diesel engines, are also equipped to fire modern Kalibr cruise missiles, which the Russian fleet has previously used to attack Ukrainian ground targets far inland, including Ukraine’s energy supply and other critical infrastructure