Ukraine says it has sunk another Russian warship. The military used ship drones to attack the “Sergei Kotov” near the annexed Crimea. There were also deaths.
Ukraine says it sank a Russian warship in a drone attack off the occupied Crimean peninsula. The patrol ship “Sergei Kotov” of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was hit by ship drones of the type “Magura V5” during the night, the Ukrainian secret service said.
There were deaths and injuries, but some crew members could have been saved, a spokesman said. Ukrainian military intelligence released a video purporting to show the nighttime attack. In it, a floating drone can be seen approaching the 94-meter-long Russian “Sergei Kotov” before there is a large explosion.
The Ukrainian navy said drones loaded with explosives hit the ship, which it said was one of the most modern in the Russian fleet, near the Kerch Strait off Crimea. There was “sustainable damage to the stern, starboard and port sides”.
Security company: Attack in the port of Fedosiya
The private maritime security company Ambrey told the AP news agency that the attack occurred in the port of Fedosiya in Crimea. Ambrey said they were able to view footage of a crew member of a merchant ship in the harbor. These showed the “Sergei Kotov” shooting at the drones. The Russian warship was hit at least twice. The second impact caused a large explosion.
According to Russian information on Telegram, train traffic on the bridge between Crimea and the Russian mainland was temporarily stopped. According to Russian information, the motorway connection could not be used for a few hours.
Attacks in February
The Russian Black Sea Fleet has been repeatedly the target of Ukrainian attacks since the beginning of the Russian invasion. In February, Ukraine claimed in two cases that it had sunk Russian warships with drones. On February 1, Ukraine said it had sunk the Russian corvette Ivanovets. On February 14th there was talk of the destruction of the landing ship “Caesar Kunikov”.
Moscow then moved numerous military ships from its historic Sevastopol naval base in Crimea to the port of Novorossiysk, further east – but did not confirm the attacks.
With information from Rebecca Barth, ARD Kiev
Conflict parties as a source
In the current situation, information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian parties to the conflict cannot be directly verified by an independent body.
Rebecca Barth, ARD Kiev, tagesschau, March 5, 2024 11:00 a.m