Ukrainian intelligence has used drones to destroy another russian ship of the Black Sea Fleet. Find out how the operation took place and how many destroyed russian ships are now on the GUR's account

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On the night of 5 March, Ukrainian drones of the Main Directorate of Intelligence attacked the russian corvette-class patrol ship Sergey Kotov in the Black Sea off the coast of occupied Crimea. It later sank, becoming the youngest ship of the rf Black Sea Fleet to be destroyed by the Ukrainian military.

How the ship was destroyed

The first reports about the destruction of the ship began to come from the russians themselves, namely from the so-called war correspondents. According to their data, not far from the coast of Feodosia on the night of 5 March there were powerful explosions. It was in this place that the "Kotov" was on duty.

Later, the information was officially confirmed in the Ukrainian intelligence. They said that the ship was attacked by the special unit "Group 13", which has already gained fame for its successful operations against russian ships.

"The mission took place in cooperation with the AFU Navy and with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. As a result of a strike by Magura V5 marine drones, the russian project 22160 ship Sergei Kotov suffered damage to the stern, starboard and port sides", the intelligence service said.

The Ukrainian military also managed to intercept a conversation between the ship's command and the dispatcher. In it, the russian side confirms that the ship was attacked by five marine drones.

As russian military correspondents write, the ship was heavily damaged: the armament and the K-27 airborne helicopter, which would have been on the deck of the ship, were destroyed. "Kotov", according to their data, tried to stay afloat, but it was decided to be towed to the port of Feodosia and on the way it sank.

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What is known about the ship Sergei Kotov?

The ship is of the corvette class and was the third serial patrol ship of Project 22160. In wartime, such ships are designed to protect other ships, as well as naval bases and water areas. 

In addition, according to some reports, the Kotov could carry Kalibr cruise missiles on board.

The destruction of this ship is unique, if only because it is only 3 years old. At the same time, it only joined the russian Black Sea Fleet in 2022. 

The Kotov has already been attacked by drones. In September 2023, five drones tried to destroy the ship, but it was damaged and was not sunk.

Ukrainian drones vs russian black sea fleet

It is worth noting that this is not the first operation to destroy russian ships from Ukrainian intelligence. Famous drone "Magura V5" has conducted several operations during its existence.

On the account of this type of marine drones already at least 6 damaged or destroyed ships of the russian navy, among them:

⛴ "Ivan Khurs".

⛴ "Sergei Kotov".

⛴ Two "Akula" vessels (destroyed).

⛴ "Serna" (destroyed).

⛴ "Ivanovets" (destroyed).

⛴ BDC "Caesar Kunikov" (destroyed).

Also, we should not forget that operations with marine drones are assigned not only to specialists of the GSD, but also to units of the Security Service of Ukraine. The Security Service has its own iconic drone "Morskoy Malyuk", which also destroyed quite a few russian ships and the Crimean bridge used by the occupants to ferry weapons from mainland russia to Crimea.

The drone has also hit enough targets, namely:

⛴ Pavel Derzhavin patrol ship.

⛴ Missile ship "Samum".

⛴ The Crimean Bridge. 

⛴ Tugboat "Professor Nikolai Muru".

⛴ Anti-mine ship "Vladimir Kozitsky".

We remind you! Recently, the russian army has lost a significant number of combat aircraft, which is involved in the war against Ukraine. By what means it could have been hit, read here.

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