Russian Warship Ablaze in Ukraine's Latest Black Sea Triumph

A video circulating on Telegram channels appears to show a Russian warship on fire after reports emerged that Ukrainian drones destroyed the large landing ship Caesar Kunikov in the Black Sea.

Citing a source in Ukrainian military intelligence, Ukrainian publication Ukrainska Pravda reported that the Ropucha-class landing ship was sunk on Wednesday after an attack by Kyiv.

Ukraine's Defense Intelligence also released a video that purportedly shows the moment its drones struck the vessel. In a post on Telegram, it said the warship was struck by MAGURA V5 sea drones off the annexed Crimean Peninsula, near the city of Alupka. The Caesar Kunikov was damaged on its left side and began to sink. The post added that it is symbolic that the Russian officer after whom the ship was named was killed exactly 81 years ago.

Newsweek couldn't immediately verify the authenticity of the videos and has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces described the warship's destruction in a statement.

"The Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with the Main Intelligence Directorate, destroyed the large landing ship Caesar Kunikov. At the time of its destruction, it was in the territorial waters of Ukraine near Alupka," the General Staff said in a statement on its social media pages.

The Crimean Wind channel said Wednesday that residents of Yalta, Alupka and Miskhor in Crimea heard five explosions.

The Kremlin has yet to comment on the reports. Earlier the Russian Defense Ministry said that it had destroyed six drones in the Black Sea.

Ukraine has inflicted extensive damage on Russia's Black Sea Fleet since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

The fleet's flagship, Moskva, was attacked and sunk in April 2022. In September 2023, a missile attack by Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol reportedly killed several leading officers and destroyed a Russian submarine. At least 37 Russian sailors were reportedly killed when Kyiv destroyed the landing ship Novocherkassk in December.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian naval drones destroyed Russia's missile-armed corvette Ivanovets near Crimea in a nighttime operation. Ukraine said MAGURA V5 sea drones were also used in that attack.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces Center for Strategic Communications (StratCom) said Kyiv's forces had by February 6 "disabled" about 33 percent of the Back Sea Fleet's warships.

"According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, our military disabled 24 Russian ships and one submarine," it said in a post on Telegram.

"According to data from open sources, as of the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation consisted of 74 warships," StratCom added. "Aggression against Ukraine is harmful to your fleet."

Update 2/14/24, 4:55 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

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