15-2-2024 (KYIV) Ukraine successfully destroyed a Russian landing warship off the coast of occupied Crimea through a targeted operation involving naval drones on Wednesday (Feb 14), as confirmed by Kyiv’s military spy agency and armed forces.
The operation, which breached the vessel’s port side, resulted in the sinking of the warship. However, there was no immediate response from Russia, which earlier claimed to have neutralized six drones in the Black Sea. The Kremlin declined to provide comments.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces, in collaboration with the Defence Ministry’s intelligence unit, eliminated the Tsezar Kunikov large landing ship. It was within Ukraine’s territorial waters near Alupka at the time of the strike,” stated the military through Telegram messenger.
The town of Alupka, situated in the Black Sea resort area, lies close to Yalta on the southern periphery of Crimea, a region annexed by Russian forces from Ukraine in 2014.
In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy remarked, “Today, more security in the Black Sea and more motivation for our people were added. This is important. And step by step, we will clear the Black Sea of Russian terrorist objects.”
#GUR hat bestätigt und veröffentlicht den Moment der Niederlage des Kriegsschiffs #CaesarKunikov durch #Magura #drones#BlackSea pic.twitter.com/UAFZxNRnjp
— Boris Alexander Beissner (@boris_beissner) February 14, 2024
According to Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, the warship seemed to have been loaded before its sinking and had spent approximately 10 days at a loading site utilized by the Russian military.
Grainy footage posted on Telegram purported to show several naval drones approaching a large vessel at night, followed by at least one significant explosion. Reuters verified the ship in the video as the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Tsezar Kunikov based on distinctive features, although the date and location of the footage could not be independently confirmed.
Subsequent footage indicated substantial damage, with the vessel tilting heavily to one side. “In summary, Tsezar Kunikov received a critical breach on the port side and started sinking,” affirmed the GUR agency.
The Project 775 warship, one of Russia’s newest vessels, crewed by 87 individuals, had participated in conflicts in Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine, according to GUR.
Ukrainian news outlets circulated videos depicting a column of smoke rising over the sea off the southern coast of Crimea, accompanied by helicopters flying overhead.
Ukraine’s utilization of unmanned navy drones loaded with explosives to target Russian warships aims to dislodge them from parts of the Black Sea, thus enabling the opening of a shipping corridor along a historically significant export route.
Having deliberately scuttled its own flagship at the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion to prevent its capture, Ukraine relies on newly developed naval drones to narrow the significant gap in naval capabilities vis-Ã -vis Russia, which maintains a formidable Black Sea Fleet that Kyiv seeks to diminish.
A senior US State Department official described the use of drones as “an asymmetrical way to rebalance the security picture in the Black Sea,” contributing to the growth of Ukraine’s economy to sustain its war effort.
“The fact that the Russian navy cannot operate in the Black Sea at will, compared to how it could operate at the beginning of this war, is a fundamental shift in the strategic position in the Black Sea region,” emphasized the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
According to a senior Ukrainian security official, Ukraine claims to have destroyed 20 per cent of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, with five large landing ships remaining in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian military asserts that it has “destroyed” 25 Russian military vessels and ships and one submarine during the conflict to date. Last month, Ukrainian cruise missiles targeted another large Russian landing warship in Crimea.
