Ukrainian intelligence authorities state that seven people have been killed and six others injured in the wake of a sea drone assault, which targeted and sank a Russian patrol vessel.
Ukraine’s military intelligence service reports that the Sergei Kotov was reportedly hit during the early hours of Tuesday morning, resulting in damage to the stern, as well as the right and left sides of the Black Sea fleet vessel.
While the Kremlin has remained silent, certain Russian bloggers have confirmed the sinking of the Sergei Kotov.
Journalists have encountered difficulty in independently confirming the extent of damage to the ship, leaving the situation unverified.
In a Telegram post Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said 52 crew members were evacuated.
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The Sergei Kotov is one of four patrol ships completed for the Russian Navy’s Project 22160. It had previously been attacked by Ukraine in September last year.
“Right now this ship is on the seabed,” Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said, adding a helicopter may have been on board.
According to Ukraine’s narrative, the vessel was reportedly involved in the attack on Snake Island at the commencement of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, along with the Moskva cruiser.
Following the sinking of the Moskva by Ukraine in 2022, tensions have escalated since Russia’s unlawful annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine nearly a decade ago. Over recent months, Ukraine has continued to target Russia’s Black Sea fleet stationed on the peninsula.
Ukraine disclosed that the sunken Sergei Kotov ship was estimated to be worth $65 million (£51.2 million), specifying that it was struck in the vicinity of the Kerch Strait, which serves as the boundary between Crimea and Russia.
A video posted on social media suggests it may depict the moment of impact when the ship was hit.
Although the vessel in the footage shares structural features with a patrol ship of the same class as the Sergei Kotov, the absence of a visible number on its side renders it unclear whether it is the same ship depicted.
The fact that no other iterations of the video have surfaced on reverse image searches strongly suggests that the footage was recently made public.
Additionally, HUR published a recording purportedly featuring the commander of the Russian Navy’s 184th Brigade, responsible for the Sergei Kotov, confirming that the ship had been targeted by five drones.