Ukraine Claims Sinking of Russian Landing Ship in Black Sea off Crimea

Russia’s landing ship Caesar Kunikov has been sunk off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s armed forces claimed Wednesday.

The BBC reports powerful explosions were heard in the early pre-dawn hours, according to local social media, which suggested the landing ship had been hit not far south of the town of Yalta.

Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence published a video of what it said were Magura V5 naval drones striking the Soviet-era ship.

There was no confirmation from Russia’s navy that the Caesar Kunikov had been sunk in the Black Sea, merely that six Ukrainian drones had been destroyed, the BBC report set out.

Video appearing to show the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack was uploaded only recently, BBC Verify confirmed.

Russian military bloggers did not deny it had been hit, saying only that the crew had survived. Russia’s military rarely reports major losses and Russians rely on a handful of popular bloggers for information.

If its sinking is confirmed, it would be the second successful strike in the Black Sea this month.

A small warship, the corvette missile Ivanovets, was hit by a swarm of drones in a special operation almost two weeks ago, as Breitbart London reported.

Another Russian landing ship, the Novocherkassk, was hit while in port in Feodosiya in December.

A cruise missile attack was used by Ukraine on that occasion against the 1980s-vintage landing ship similar in size to the U.S.-made Freedom-class warship.

The news came after Russian bombing raids killed three people including a child late Tuesday near Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk, local authorities said.

The strikes hit nine apartment blocks and a hospital in Selydove, about 12 miles west of the front line, the local council revealed on Telegram.

Twelve people were also injured in the bombing, including four children, it added.

More to come…

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