Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov sank off coast of Crimea – Ukraine

A large Russian ship called the Caesar Kunikov has sunk near Crimea. Ukraine’s armed forces reported this.

There were loud explosions on Wednesday morning, as per local social media. They said that the ship was hit not far from Yalta town.

Ukraine has attacked Russia’s navy in Crimea several times.

Satellite pictures from last year showed that most of the ships had left the peninsula.

Ukraine’s intelligence agency said on a messaging app that they used Magura V5 naval drones in the attack.

Russia has been at war with Ukraine for almost three years. Ukraine’s military leader says the situation is very difficult.

Last week, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi became the top commander. On Wednesday, he went to the front line after a Russian missile killed three people in Selydove.

Russia’s navy did not confirm that the Caesar Kunikov ship was sunk in the Black Sea. They only said they destroyed six Ukrainian drones. A video showing the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack was recently uploaded and verified by media.

Russian military bloggers acknowledged that their aircraft had been hit, but said that the crew had survived. The Russian military doesn’t often tell about big defeats and Russians listen to just a few popular bloggers for news.

The Caesar Kunikov was made at the end of the Soviet period. If it’s confirmed that the ship has sunk, it would be the second time a ship has been successfully hit in the Black Sea this month. A little ship called Ivanovets was attacked by drones about two weeks ago.

In December, the Novocherkassk, a Russian landing ship, was hit while parked in the port of Feodosiya.