Russian patrol ship ‘sunk’ near Crimea as Ukraine dominates at sea
Ukrainian sea drones have sunk a Russian warship off occupied Crimea, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence, in what appears to be the latest in a string of unlikely successes against the once-feared Black Sea Fleet.
The achievement by “a country without a navy defeating what was supposed to be an all-powerful Russian fleet”, will also provide a psychological boost to Ukraine at a time when morale is low amid stalling international support for Kyiv, one expert said.
Ukraine claimed that a special operations unit had sunk the Sergey Kotov patrol ship near the Kerch Strait using high-tech sea drones laden with explosives in the early hours of Tuesday.
“As a result of a strike by Magura V5 maritime drones, the Russian ship Project 22160 Sergey Kotov sustained damage to the stern, starboard and port sides,” Ukraine’s intelligence agency said. It added that the ship was worth about $65m (£51.2m).
Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s chief of staff, said on the messaging app Telegram on Tuesday: “The Russian Black Sea Fleet is a symbol of occupation. It cannot be in the Ukrainian Crimea,” in an apparent reference to the attack.
Ukraine’s defence ministry posted a video on X claiming to show the moment the ship was hit by drones.
The private security firm Ambrey said the attack took place at the port of Feodosia, in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Ambrey said it has seen footage taken by a crew member on a merchant vessel in the port, showing the Sergey Kotov firing at the drones.
The ship, which can reportedly carry cruise missiles and around 60 crew, was hit at least twice, with the second strike resulting in a large blast, Ambrey said.
Russian authorities did not confirm the claim but some Russian pro-war bloggers said the attack had taken place.
Keir Giles, senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, told i that Ukraine’s latest attack, one of many successes against the Black Sea Fleet in the past few weeks and months, was far more significant than just a “symbolic step”.
“The fact that Ukraine has so effectively regained sea control in at least the western part of the Black Sea is not just a symbolic step, it is a major enabler for Ukraine continuing to function as a state,” he said.
“Ukraine [is] now routinely described as a country without a navy defeating what was supposed to be an all-powerful Russian fleet”, he said, adding that “Russia has had to pull its warships back to basis actually in Russian territory,” as a result of Kyiv’s air and sea victories.
He pointed out that Russia had in the past had the option to relocate its the Black Sea fleet to its own territory, but decided not to so that Moscow could “continue to exert control and leverage over Ukraine. “It is a direct expression of Russia’s colonial ambition,” he said.
The Ukrainian military said last month it had destroyed a Russian landing warship near Crimea in an operation with naval drones that breached the vessel’s port side and caused it to sink.
Even before Russia’s land, air and sea invasion of its smaller neighbour in February 2022, Russia’s Black Sea fleet “threatened complete interruption” of Ukraine’s trade with the rest of the world and therefore “posed a significant threat to Ukrainian statehood.
However, Mr Giles urged caution. Western support was still critical to Ukraine being able to defeat Russia, he said, with dwindling international aid blamed for Russia’s recent territorial gains.
“The continuing obstructionism by US politicians blocking the essential lifeline of aid and military support to Ukraine could determine the future of the conflict more directly than the destruction of Russia’s navy and air force,” he said.
While noting Ukraine’s victories by air and sea, he said “none of that is of use if Ukraine’s partners, backers and the countries that Ukraine is protecting at the cost of its own blood do not do enough to ensure that Kyiv can prevail”.
