Russia's GUR military intelligence agency said a special unit called Group 13 launched a Magura V5 drone at the Sergey Kotov in the Kerch Strait, a strait that links the Azov Sea and the Black Sea.
On Telegram, the agency said the ship suffered damage to its stern, starboard and port sides, with estimated damage of about $65 million.
“The ship is currently lying on the seabed due to damage from a fire caused by unmanned vessels,” Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told television.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the GUR, said a helicopter was on board the ship.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not directly mention the sinking of the ship in his evening video briefing.
However, he declared that Ukraine had “demonstrated our capabilities, demonstrated the capabilities of our power”.
“That ability is demonstrated by the number of Russian planes shot down and our ability to deal with the Russian fleet.”
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense /via Reuters.
He asserted that “there will be no more safe airspace for them, thanks to the power of Ukraine”.
Reuters was unable to verify the reports. The Russian defense ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Several Russian military bloggers have confirmed the report. The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reported that an attempt was made to tow the ship back to port, but it sank.
Ukraine has stepped up attacks in recent months in the Black Sea and Crimea, a peninsula Russia annexed in 2014. Kyiv has reported a series of attacks, including the sinking of a large landing ship by an unmanned sea vessel in mid-February.
The Sergey Kotov was also attacked in September 2023 and another patrol boat has been damaged in attacks since Russia launched its special operation in Ukraine two years ago, Pletenchuk said.
“They have four of these ships and two are no longer operational.”
Reuters has not been able to verify the earlier attacks.
Moscow-appointed officials in Crimea said rail and highway traffic was suspended and then resumed on a bridge across the Kerch Strait connecting the Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia.
Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)
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