A Russian landing ship sank off the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula. It is apparently an operation by the Ukrainian secret service.
A Russian landing ship sank on Wednesday morning south of the Crimean peninsula, which Russia has occupied in violation of international law. Observers had previously reported explosions in the area on the Black Sea. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has now confirmed the ship’s sinking. According to the Ukrainian newspaper “Ukrainska Pravda”, Ukrainian naval drones hit the military ship.
According to the report, this is an operation by the Ukrainian military intelligence agency HUR. The Russian landing ship “Caesar Kunikov” was so badly damaged that it sank. The “Caesar Kunikov” is a Ropucha I class landing ship. This could not be independently verified.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is already in retreat
The Russian Defense Ministry only spoke of six Ukrainian drones that were allegedly successfully shot down over the Black Sea that night. Observers reported that Russian military helicopters were seen over the area shortly after the explosions on the landing craft.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for almost two years. The Ukrainian military has already sunk or at least seriously damaged Russian warships with missiles and maritime drones on several occasions. The Russian Black Sea Fleet has now been largely pushed out of the western part of the Black Sea. Here you can read more about it.
Sister ship destroyed in December
The “Caesar Kunikov” is the fourth Russian landing ship to sink in the Black Sea. Russia uses the ships primarily for military transport. The sister ship “Novocherkassk” was hit and destroyed by a Ukrainian cruise missile in the Crimean port of Feodosiya last December. Here you can read more about it.
The landing ship “Caesar Kunikov” is around 113 meters long and 15 meters wide. When fully loaded, the ship weighs around 4,100 tons. It is currently unknown how many personnel were on board the ship.
