Tsar Kunikov: Ukraine says it has sunk another warship, disabling a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet

CNN
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Ukraine It claims to have now disabled a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet after military intelligence said it sank another Russian warship in Sea drone attack Off the coast of Crimea on Wednesday.

The Russian landing ship Tsar Kunikov was attacked MAGURA V5 drones The Ukrainian military intelligence agency said on the Telegram app that the ship had created “serious holes” in its left side before sinking.

“Ukraine disabled a third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet during the large-scale invasion,” Ukrainian Armed Forces told CNN after Wednesday's attack.

This is in line with Ukraine's claims last week that it disabled about 33% of Russian warships, amounting to 24 disabled ships and one submarine. The landing ship Cesar Kunikov will be the 25th disabled ship, according to the Ukrainian census.

The statement said that Wednesday's attack was carried out by the agency's Special Forces Unit “Group 13” in cooperation with the Ukrainian security and defense forces.

Night time Screenshots Images provided by Ukraine showed a naval drone heading towards the ship Cesar Kunikov, before a huge column of smoke rose from the ship.

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence said that the ship was docked for 10 days at a designated docking site where Russia could load it with weapons and military equipment. She added that the ship appeared to be loaded at the time of the attack.

CNN has been unable to independently verify Ukraine's claims. The Kremlin refused to comment on the reported attack.

He added: “This has to do with the course of the special military operation, so it is within the competence of the Ministry of Defense. I suggest you refer to the statements of our military colleagues. “I cannot say anything about this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference.

Wednesday's attack is the latest in a series of Ukrainian strikes on the Russian Navy, as it attempts to launch strategic and symbolic strikes against Russian forces that annexed Crimea in 2014.

As Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches its second anniversary, the front lines have for months remained mostly static. But since last year Ukraine has Centered To the Black Sea, saying its strikes on Crimea and Russian ships aim to isolate the peninsula and make it difficult for Russia to continue its military operations on the Ukrainian mainland.

When asked about the incident at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg generally said that “the Ukrainians managed to inflict huge losses on the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” and that this was “a great achievement, a great victory for the Ukrainians.”

The NATO Secretary General also noted that the Ukrainian armed forces' removal of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea and the opening of a corridor allowed them to export grain and other goods to the global market.

“Few would think that this would have been possible just a few months ago. But now in fact, grains are being exported from Ukraine even without an agreement with Russia. This shows the skills and competence of the Ukrainian armed forces,” Stoltenberg said, adding that NATO support was important.

Earlier this month, Ukraine said it had sunk the ship IvanovetsIt is a Russian guided missile ship in the Black Sea as well. It was her most prominent attack on Moscow In April 2022, forcing Russia to change its modus operandi near Ukrainian-controlled areas.

After the attack on Ivanovets, CNN interviewed the Ukrainian naval drone unit that was behind the attack on a site near the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. One of the drone pilots behind the attack told CNN that 10 MAGURA drones were used in the attack, six of which hit the Russian warship and eventually sank it.

The MAGURA drones are only a few meters long and operate on jet skis, a pilot from a special unit of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency told CNN earlier this year.

But it has a large range of about 800 kilometers (about 500 miles), so military units can launch drones from across wide swaths of the Ukrainian coast to carry out missions against targets in Crimea.

Kiev is increasingly using drones to level the playing field with Russia. Former Ukrainian general Valery Zalozhny stressed the importance of drones In a CNN editorial Written earlier this month before it was He was removed from his position Last week by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“It is these unmanned systems — such as drones — along with other types of advanced weapons that provide the best way for Ukraine to avoid being drawn into a positional war, where we do not have the advantage,” Zaloznyy wrote.

One Ukrainian drone pilot told CNN that drones offered an advantage in the Black Sea because they are “very hard to see” and their small size makes them difficult for Russia to target, while drones can target warships more easily.

“No warship would be able to maneuver like these drones,” the pilot added.

This story has been updated.