Using sophisticated underwater drones, Ukraine claims to have sunk another Russian vessel in the Black Sea

KYIV: As Kyiv’s troops continue to target locations well beyond the front lines of the conflict, the country said on Tuesday that it has successfully destroyed another Russian cruiser in the Black Sea using advanced underwater drones. The assertion was not verified by Russian officials.
The huge patrol ship Sergey Kotov was destroyed overnight by a special operations team using unmanned Magura V5 boats, which are developed, constructed, and loaded with explosives in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military intelligence agency.

The patrol ship, which the Ukrainians claim was struck close to the Kerch Strait, is supposed to be capable of carrying 60 crew members and cruise missiles.
The Ukrainian claim could not be independently confirmed right away, and the battle that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022 was marked by deception.
At times along the mostly immobile 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line, Kyiv’s soldiers are fighting to hold off the better-equipped Russian army, but they are also aiming for objectives far beyond the combat zone.

Due to Ukrainian victories against Russian vessels in the Black Sea, Ukraine is now able to establish a corridor for the export of grain while the Russian navy is forced back from the shore.
The Ukrainian army ministry uploaded a video of what it claimed to be the midnight strike on Sergey Kotov on X, the old Twitter.

The incident happened near the port of Feodosia in Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, according to private security company Ambrey. Ambrey claimed to have seen a film of Sergey Kotov shooting at the drones that were captured by a crew member aboard a commercial vessel in the harbor.
According to Ambrey, the ship was struck at least twice, the second of which caused a significant explosion.

Ukraine said last month that it used drones to sink two Russian vessels. It said on February 1 that it had sunk the Russian corvette Ivanovets, equipped with missiles, and on February 14 it had destroyed the landing craft Caesar Kunikov. These allegations were not verified by Russian authorities.
According to Kyiv authorities, almost 20% of Russian missile assaults on Ukraine originate in the Black Sea, and Moscow finds it humiliating when Russian ships are struck there.
The Russian Black Sea fleet’s flagship, the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, was severely damaged in a missile strike and sunk around a year ago.