Crimea Naval Drone Attack Destroys Russia's Newest $65M Patrol Ship

Ukrainian forces destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet's newest patrol ship, the Sergey Kotov, using naval drones in an overnight attack, Kyiv has said.

"The enemy ship 'Sergey Kotov' was destroyed," Ukraine's military intelligence said on Tuesday.

Kyiv said the operation was carried out by Ukraine's Group 13 special forces near the Kerch Strait.

The Context

News of the destruction of the vessel marks the latest blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose Black Sea Fleet has been targeted by Ukraine as it seeks to reverse his 2014 annexation of Crimea. The region is Russia's central logistics hub for its forces in southern Ukraine.

What We Know

According to the Unian news agency, Russia's newest Project 22160 patrol ship cost around $65 million to build and had a crew of 80, though it is currently unclear how many people were on board.

The ship was previously reported to have been used by Russia in the enforcement of its Black Sea blockade on Ukrainian grain exports.

Ukraine said the ship, built in 2021, was "damaged by fire in the territorial waters of Ukraine."

"As a result of the attack by Magura V5 naval drones, the Russian ship of project 22160 'Sergey Kotov' suffered damage to the stern, right and left sides," Ukraine's military intelligence said in a post on Telegram.

Ukraine has used Magura V5 naval drones in attacks on the Black Sea Fleet before, including against Russia's Ropucha-class landing ship Caesar Kunikov last month.

"The mission took place in cooperation with the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine," it added.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Radio Liberty that Russia had "plans to place anti-aircraft missile systems on the ship."

"The fewer such ships, the fewer anti-aircraft missile systems will be deployed on them, and this means more opportunities for the Ukrainian security and defense forces," he said.

Yusov said there were casualties as a result of the attack.

"There are dead and wounded. However, there is a possibility that part of the crew could have evacuated…Ambulances are known to have been called by the enemy on the nearest landmass. That is, an evacuation operation was still carried out," Yusov added

Newsweek couldn't independently verify Ukraine's claims about the boat's destruction, and has contacted Russia's defense ministry for comment by email. The Kremlin hasn't commented on the reports.

Views

X (formerly Twitter) user "Ukrainian Front," a Ukrainian military blogger, said that the Sergey Kotov was commissioned into the Russian Black Sea Fleet on July 30, 2022, months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"So it is the newest of the ships affected during the war. The ship cost the Russian budget 100 million dollars. Caliber missiles and other weapons could be installed on board," the blogger said.

"Ukraine's naval drones hit Russia's patrol boat 'Sergey Kotov' at the Kerch bridge. 'Sergey Kotov' was built in 2021," wrote Sergej Sumlenny, founder of the German think tank, the European Resilience Initiative Center, on X.

What's Next?

Russia's Black Sea Fleet has suffered extensive casualties throughout the full-scale war in Ukraine that has been raging since 2022. Its flagship, Moskva, was attacked and destroyed in April of that year. In September 2023, Ukraine launched a missile attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol, reportedly killing a number of leading officers and taking out a Russian submarine.

Experts close to Ukraine's Defense Ministry previously told Newsweek that Kyiv is embarking on a strategy to "demilitarize" the Black Sea Fleet as part of steps toward eventually liberating Crimea.

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