Kyiv: Ukrainian intelligence has revealed that a Russian patrol ship, the Sergei Kotov, sustained damage following a drone attack in the Black Sea. The incident reportedly occurred during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
According to Ukraine’s military intelligence service, the Sergei Kotov, launched in 2021, suffered damage to its stern, right, and left sides. Ukrainian intelligence official Andrii Yusov stated that the attack resulted in casualties among the sailors on board, although the Kremlin has yet to issue a response.
The Sergei Kotov is among the four patrol ships completed for the Russian Navy’s Project 22160. Ukraine alleges that this vessel was involved in the attack on Snake Island during the initial stages of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, alongside the Moskva cruiser, which was subsequently sunk by Ukraine.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine nearly a decade ago has heightened tensions in the region, with Ukraine targeting Russia’s Black Sea fleet stationed on the peninsula in recent months.
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Ukraine estimated the cost of the sunken Sergei Kotov at $65 million (£51.2 million) and stated that the attack occurred near the Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea from Russia. A video circulating on social media purportedly shows the moment of the attack, although its authenticity remains subject to verification.
BBC Verify examined the video released by Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, noting its similarity to a patrol ship of the same class as the Sergei Kotov. However, due to the absence of a visible number on its side, the footage does not definitively identify it as the same ship. No alternate versions of the video have emerged from reverse image searches, suggesting its recent release.
Since the conflict’s onset, at least 13 Russian naval vessels have been destroyed or damaged, as reported by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. In a similar incident last month, another Russian amphibious ship, the Caesar Kunikov, was sunk in a drone attack near the town of Yalta.
