Ukraine's military said Wednesday it sank
a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea
using marine drones, a report that has not been confirmed by Moscow's forces.
Ukraine's military intelligence agency released footage that appears to show Ukrainian marine drones destroying a ship in the Black Sea.
At least three drones with cameras sail toward the ship, hitting the waterline, sinking it.
The large amphibious ship, named Caesar Kunikov, sank off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea, according to the Ukrainian military.
According to local social media,
powerful explosions were heard early
Wednesday morning.
The amphibious ship Caesar Kunikov sank near
Alupka, a town on the southern tip of the Crimean peninsula
that Moscow annexed in 2014, Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement Wednesday morning.
The vessel
has capacity for a crew of 87 people
, he added.
The amphibious ship Caesar Kunikov crosses the Dardanelles Strait, in an image from 2015. Photo: AP
The sinking would be
another embarrassing setback for Russia's Black Sea fleet
and a significant success for Ukraine 10 days before the
second anniversary of the start of the invasion
on February 24, 2022.
Ukraine has moved into a defensive position in the war,
hampered by shortages of ammunition and personnel,
but has maintained its attacks from behind the
mostly
static
front line
that stretches 1,500 kilometers (930 miles).
It is
the second time
in two weeks that Ukrainian forces claim to have sunk a Russian ship in the area.
Last week, they released a video they claimed showed maritime drones raiding the missile-armed Russian corvette Ivanovets.
The Russian corvette Ivanovets.
Photo: Reuters
Ukrainian Military Intelligence, known by its Ukrainian acronym
GUR
, explained that its special operations unit “Group 13” sank the Caesar Kunikov using
Magura V5 maritime drones
on Wednesday,
causing damage to its left side
.
The same unit was also the one that carried out the February 1 operation, according to authorities.
Ukrainian attacks on Russian ships and aircraft in the Black Sea have helped draw Russian naval forces away from the coast, allowing
Kiev to increase crucial exports of grain
and other goods through its southern ports.
Marine drones, key pieces of war
A new generation of unmanned weapons systems has become a centerpiece in warfare, both at sea and on land.
The
Magura V5 drone
, which
looks like a black speedboat,
was introduced last year.
It apparently reaches a speed of 42 knots (80 km/h) and could carry a payload of 320 kilos.
The Russian military
had no immediate comment
on the alleged sinking and said it shot down six Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea overnight.
Caesar Kunikov, in whose honor the Russian ship was named,
was a Soviet hero in World War II
and died on February 14, the same day of the Ukrainian drone attack in 1943.
With information from the Associated Press and BBC News