The Main Directorate of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) said high-tech Ukrainian sea drones struck and “sunk” the Russian patrol vessel Sergei Kotov off the coast of occupied Crimea in what appears to be the latest sinking of a Russian ship well behind enemy lines.
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HUR’s special unit Group 13 and Ukraine’s naval forces took part in the operation with support from the Ministry of Digital Transformation, HUR said in a statement on Telegram on March 5.
“As a result of a strike by Magura V5 maritime drones, the Russian ship Project 22160 Sergei Kotov sustained damage to the stern and to the starboard and port sides. The action occurred in the territorial waters of Ukraine, not far from the Kerch Strait,” the statement said.
The value of the “destroyed” Russian vessel was about $65 million, it added.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made no direct reference to the sinking of the Sergey Kotov in his nightly video address.
“Ukraine has proved what we are capable of, what our strength is capable of,” Zelenskiy said. “That is shown by the number of downed Russian aircraft and the capabilities of our boys against the Russian fleet. There are no safe havens for Russian terrorists in the Black Sea and nor will there be.”
HUR official Andriy Yusov told RFE/RL that, according to intelligence reports, there are dead and wounded among the ship’s crew, and some have been evacuated.
“There are dead and wounded. However, there is a possibility that part of the crew could have evacuated,” Yusov said.
The destroyer-class vessel reportedly can carry cruise missiles and around 60 crew.
A video posted later on social media platforms by the HUR claims to show “how the Sergei Kotov was sunk.” The grainy black-and-white video appears to have been shot from cameras on board naval drones from different angles and distances and show several explosions hitting a ship purported to be the Sergei Kotov.
HUR did not reveal the precise location of the strike, but social media posts reported that the attack on the vessel occurred in the port of Feodosia overnight. A video posted on X, formerly Twitter, purportedly shows the moment of the impact and a large explosion.
Russia has not commented on the Ukrainian claim, which could not be independently verified.
But Rybar war blog, which is close to Russia’s Defense Ministry, said the ship was destroyed.
“The Russian Black Sea Fleet is a symbol of occupation. It cannot be in Ukrainian Crimea,” Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, wrote on Telegram on March 5.
Later on March 5, Crimea residents told RFE/RL’s Crimea.Realities project that explosions could be heard in the area of Mizhvodny, in the northwestern part of the Russian-occupied peninsula.
“We heard about five explosions within an interval of 10-15 minutes,” one resident said.
Details are still unknown.
The sinking of the Sergei Kotov — which was commissioned in 2021 — would be another blow to Russia’s navy, which has lost several key ships since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Explosions were heard early on March 5 in the Crimean city of Kerch, and the bridge connecting the occupied peninsula with Russia was closed, according to RFE/RL’s Crimea.Realities project.
Highway traffic reportedly reopened on the bridge at around 7 a.m. local time, the Russian-installed administration managing the bridge said on March 5.
Last month, Ukraine’s military said it had destroyed the Tsezar Kunikov, one of the largest Russian landing ships, in the Black Sea off the coast of occupied Crimea.
It said the February 14 strike was a combined operation of the armed forces and military intelligence also using Magura V5 naval drones.
Earlier in February, Ukrainian forces said they had sunk the Russian missile-armed corvette Ivanovets in the Black Sea in an operation carried out by the same elite Group 13 unit with Magura V5 drones.
Russia has not commented on the two Ukrainian claims.
The Magura V5 drone, an acronym for Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus V Type, was unveiled last year. The drone, which has the appearance of a sleek speedboat, has a top speed of 80 kilometers per hour, according to reports, and can carry a payload of 320 kilograms.