The Russian Defense Ministry has accused Ukraine of attacking one of its ships in Turkish territorial waters. This boat protects Turkish gas pipelines near the Bosphorus.
Lieutenant General and official of the Russian Defense Ministry Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday that the crew of the ship “Ivan Khurs” successfully repelled the attack by surface drones in the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey’s exclusive economic zone.
According to the official TASS news agency, Konashenkov clarified that the attacked ship, the Black Sea Fleet Ivan Khurs, “provides security for the operation of the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines in the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Turkey.” “.
And the Russian military clarified that “Since the September 26, 2022 terrorist attack on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are taking measures to protect these facilities.” “And it’s not in vain,” he explains, because “today at 5:30 a.m., the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to attack the famous Ivan Khurs with three high-speed unmanned boats.”
“All enemy boats were destroyed by fire from the Russian ship’s regular armament 140 km northeast of the Bosphorus,” Igor Konashenkov added, adding that the Russian ship “continues to perform the tasks assigned to it.”
According to Tass, the reconnaissance ship “Ivan Khurs” was built at the Severnaya Shipyard in St. Petersburg in accordance with project 18280. It was named in honor of the head of the Intelligence Directorate of the Main Staff of the USSR Navy, Vice Admiral Ivan Kuzmich Khurs. It was the first production ship of the project. It was introduced in the Black Sea Fleet in June 2018.