Ukraine says it destroyed another huge Russian warship in the Black Sea with marine drones

The Ukrainian military said Tuesday that its forces They destroyed a Russian war patrol boat near the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea. Already in February the enormous Russian amphibious ship “Caesar Kunikov” had sunk.

“After the attack on Magura V5 maritime dronesthe Russian ship Project 22160 “Sergei Kotov” suffered damage on the stern, starboard and port side,” Ukrainian Military Intelligence (GUR) said on Telegram.

GUR spokesman Andriy Yusov said that the ship it had already been damaged in a previous attackbut this time it was definitively destroyed“.

“As far as the crew is concerned, the situation is being clarified. There are dead and injured. “In any case, it is likely that some of the crew may have been evacuated,” she said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense He has not yet made any comments. about a naval drone attack in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian forces reached the milestone in 2023 repel the powerful Russian fleet in the Black Sea with missiles and naval drones.

According to the Ukrainian army, around a third of the Russian naval ships present in the area were “disabled”.

The mission in which the “Sergei Kotov” was “destroyed” had the Ukrainian Navy and the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, which is responsible for it some of the most ambitious drone production programs.

This new incident against a Russian naval vessel occurred in the territorial waters of Ukraine under Russian control, near the Kerch Strait. connects the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Azov and separates the occupied Crimean peninsula from the Russian Federation.

Russian media reported explosions in the Kerch Strait that forced Russia to temporarily shut down Civil rail traffic on the bridge which connects the occupied peninsula with the territory of the Russian Federation.

What ship is the Sergei Kotov?

The Russian patrol vessel Sergei Kotov is an impressive ship that belongs to the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy. It was built in 2016 at the Zelenodolsk shipyard in the city of Kazan and was named after the Soviet sailor Sergei Kotov.

This vessel has a length of 94 meters and a width of 14 meterswith a displacement capacity of 2,000 tons.

It is equipped with modern navigation and communication systems, as well as cutting-edge weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles and torpedoes.

The Sergei Kotov has a crew of approximately 80 people, including officers, sailors and technical personnel.

The main function of the Sergei Kotov patrol boat is the surveillance and protection of Russian territorial waters.