Ukrainian forces have hit a Russian warship in a nighttime maritime drone strike near occupied Crimea, dealing another blow to Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet.
Ukrainian military intelligence publish A grainy video showed several Ukrainian unmanned vessels, known as maritime drones, approaching the Russian missile ship Ivanovich, before cutting to footage of the ship on fire.
Ukraine claimed the ship had sunk. “As a result of multiple direct hits to the hull, the frigate was damaged, rolled to the stern and sank. The ship is valued at approximately $60 million to $70 million [£47.4m-£55.3m],” the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said in an online statement.
Russia did not immediately comment on the incident, but several pro-Kremlin military bloggers with close ties to Moscow confirmed that the Ivanovich warship had been hit.
“At night, the enemy sank the large missile boat Ivanovitz,” Anastasia Kashvalova, an influential Russian military blogger, wrote on her Telegram channel.
The Ivanovich is a small missile warship that usually carries a crew of about 40 people. It was unclear whether there were any casualties following the attack.
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Kiev has launched numerous attacks using unmanned boats, targeting warships, the Sevastopol base and the port of Novorossiysk.
Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service also said it used remote-controlled maritime drones last year in an attack on the Russian-built Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to the mainland.
Despite having no warships of its own, Ukraine has successfully taken the initiative in the Black Sea using maritime drones, which, unlike aerial drones, operate on or below the surface.
Maritime drones often have built-in explosives and cameras that can beam images back to the people controlling them.
Moscow is believed to have withdrawn much of its Black Sea fleet from its main base in Crimea following a series of missile and drone attacks in Ukraine last fall and summer.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said last year that Russia had lost up to 20% of its Black Sea Fleet since Putin invaded Ukraine.
Ukraine’s success in the Black Sea provides a rare bright spot for the country, whose military has shifted to the defensive on multiple fronts after a summer counteroffensive failed.
Kiev is now expected to hold its ground on the battlefield as it awaits more Western ammunition and weapons to fend off Russian attacks.
