Defense Intelligence of Ukraine/Telegram
Ukraine provided footage showing a sea drone racing toward Russia’s Caesar Kunikov warship in the Black Sea, February 14, 2024.
CNN
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Ukraine’s military intelligence says it sank a Russian warship off the coast of Crimea on Wednesday, the latest in a series of sea drone attacks on Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
Russia’s landing ship Caesar Kunikov was attacked with “MAGURA” V5 drones that punctured “critical holes” on its left side before sinking, the Ukrainian agency said on Telegram.
The attack was conducted by the agency’s “Group 13” special forces unit in cooperation with Ukraine’s security and defense forces, the statement said.
Night-time footage provided by Ukraine showed a sea drone racing toward the Caesar Kunikov, before a huge plume of smoke rose from the vessel.
CNN could not independently verify Ukraine’s claims. There has been no official comment from Russia about Ukraine’s claims.
Wednesday’s attack is the latest in a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s navy, as it tries to land both strategic and symbolic blows against Russian forces that annexed Crimea in 2014.
As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears its second anniversary, the frontlines have for months remained mostly static. But since last year Ukraine has pivoted to the Black Sea, saying its strikes on Crimea and Russian ships are intended to isolate the peninsula and make it more difficult for Russia to sustain its military operations on the Ukrainian mainland.
Yoruk Isik/Reuters
Ukraine said the Caesar Kunikov, pictured here in Istanbul, Turkey in 2020, was destroyed in a sea drone attack.
Earlier this month, Ukraine said it sank the Ivanovets, a Russian guided-missile ship, also in the Black Sea. Its most notable strike was on the Moskva in April 2022, which forced Russia to change the way it operates close to areas controlled by Ukraine.
“MAGURA” drones are only a few meters long and powered by jet skis, a pilot from a special unit in Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency told CNN earlier this year.
But they have a large range of around 800 kilometers (nearly 500 miles), so military units can launch drones from across large swathes of Ukraine’s coastline for missions against Crimean targets.
This is a developing story and will be updated.