KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine claimed Tuesday it had sunk another Russian warship in the Black Sea using high-tech maritime drones, as Kiev forces continued to target targets deep behind the warfront. Russian authorities did not confirm the claim.
Ukrainian military intelligence said a special forces unit destroyed the large patrol ship Sergey Kotov overnight. The ship, which Ukraine says entered service in 2021 and was hit near the Kerch Strait, can reportedly carry cruise missiles and about 60 crew members.
The sinking of such a modern ship would be a significant loss and an embarrassing blow for Moscow, even though its Black Sea fleet has dozens of other ships.
Patrol boats like the Sergey Kotov are part of Russia's countermeasures against drone attacks, according to an article published last month by the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a US think tank. The ships used radar and a helicopter to track and destroy drones with grenade launchers and heavy machine guns, it said.
Kiev's forces are struggling to keep the better-equipped Russian army at bay at points along the largely static 1,500-kilometer front line, but are also targeting targets far beyond the battlefield.
In the Black Sea, Ukrainian successes against enemy warships have pushed the Russian fleet off the coast and allowed Ukraine to establish a grain export corridor.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense published a video on Seven Russian crew members were killed and six injured in the attack, and 52 crew members were rescued, military intelligence said.
The Ukrainian claims could not immediately be independently verified, and disinformation was a feature of the fighting that erupted after Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
Private security firm Ambrey said the attack took place in the Crimean port of Feodosia, which Russia annexed in 2014. Ambrey said it had seen footage taken by a crew member on a merchant ship in port that showed Sergey Kotov firing the drones at the ship.
The ship was hit at least twice, with the second attack resulting in a large explosion, Ambrey reported.
Last month, Ukraine claimed it had twice sunk Russian warships with drones. On February 1, it claimed to have sunk the Russian missile-armed corvette Ivanovets, and on February 14, it said it had destroyed the landing ship Caesar Kunikov. Russian officials did not confirm these claims.
Kiev officials say about 20% of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine are launched from the Black Sea and that hitting Russian ships there is embarrassing for Moscow.
Almost two years ago, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the guided missile cruiser Moskva, sank after being badly damaged in a missile attack.
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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
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