Watch: Ukrainian Forces Destroy Russian Missile Boat In Black Sea Operation

Ukrainian forces state that they have been able to impair a missile boat of Russia from the Black Sea Fleet in a specialized operation off Crimea. The Ivanovets, a small warship, received some direct hits to its hull overnight, and it sank afterwards, the military intelligence said. It has also released video footage that reflects the moment of effect, followed by a massive explosion. There has been no information regarding this incident from Russia’s authorities.

However, Voenkor Kotenok, Russia’s military blogger, mentioned on Telegram that the boat sunk after being hit thrice by naval drones. Several features visible on the vessel in the Ukrainian clip match those of Project 12411 or Tarantul, a class of missile boats operated by Russia and other navies to which the Ivanovets belong.

Video Credits: Guardian News/YouTube

These mainly include the sensors’ layout and the superstructure’s mast, as well as a vast radar dome on the bridge. As the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine reported, soldiers from their particular unit, “Group 13”, destroyed the boat close to Lake Donuzlav, a saltwater bay on the western end of the Crimean peninsula that also hosts a naval base. Due to direct hits to the vessel’s hull, the Russian vessel suffered damages incompatible with any further movements — the Ivanovets listed to the stern and collapsed, it stated via the Telegram channel.

It also stated that a Russian rescue and search operation in the region was unsuccessful. The ship’s estimated value was between $60 and 70 million. “Impressive” is how Olexander Scherba, a Foreign Ministry official, evaluated the strike.
Ukraine has succeeded in the war around the Black Sea, impairing or destroying Russia’s warships despite not having a fleet of its own.

In December, Kyiv mentioned destroying the large landing vessel dubbed the Novocherkassk at Feodosia in Crimea. Russia also confirmed that the ship was damaged. In April 2022, right after months of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Moskva, which was the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was impaired, and ultimately, it was sunk, seemingly by Ukraine’s missiles.

After a missile strike on the headquarters of the Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol in September, satellite photographs reflected that Russia’s navy had moved a significant portion of its Black Sea fleet farther away from Crimea to Russia’s port of Novorossiysk.

Reference: BBC

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