Ukraine says it has destroyed yet another ship in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in an early morning attack that likely killed dozens of crew members.
“There are no specific figures yet, but according to available information, most of the crew died,” Ukraine’s military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told reporters early Wednesday of the drone attack on the Cesar Kunikov.
Footage released by military intelligence showed a swarm of naval drones heading towards the ship off the coast of Crimea and hitting the port side, leaving “critical holes” and sending the ship towards the bottom of the Black Sea.
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The mission would be the second one this month against a Russian warship in the Black Sea.
“This is a difficult period, difficult times. Nonetheless, in these difficult times, Ukrainians have the right to a holiday, and that’s why [Ukrainian forces] congratulated Ukrainians on Valentine’s Day today. This is such a successful operation, when ‘Cesar Kunikov’ is now at the bottom of the sea, and everyone is rejoicing,” Yusov told reporters.
The Kremlin has not commented on the fate of the ship, with Vladimir Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters he could not provide any information and instead referring them to Russia’s Defense Ministry. Several pro-war Russian military bloggers confirmed the attack on the Cesar Kunikov, but said the extent of the damage was unclear.
Similarly, witnesses quoted by the local outlet Crimean Wind described seeing medical transport vans rushing toward Sevastopol after the attack, presumably carrying injured or killed crew members. “A lot of police patrol with flashing lights,” the outlet quoted locals as saying.
The BBC’s Russian Service interviewed a former crew member of the Cesar Kunikov who said the crew had managed to evacuate before it was too late. “They understood they couldn’t fight back and left the ship in time,” he said, adding that 89 people had been on the ship at the time of the attack.
