PREVIEW

This video footage shows what Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) claims is the destruction of the Sergey Kotov, a patrol ship from Russia's Black Sea Fleet, in an overnight attack on 5 March 2024.
The assault followed night time explosions on the occupied peninsula, accompanied by the temporary closure of the Kerch Bridge. The Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of 38 drones over Crimea during the same period.
The operation, allegedly carried out in collaboration with Ukraine's Navy and the Digital Transformation Ministry, reportedly used domestically-produced Magura V5 naval drones to sink the $65 million. The fate of the ship's crew is currently under investigation, and reports suggest the destruction of a Russian Ka-29 transport and combat helicopter that was allegedly onboard Sergey Kotov.
This incident adds to a series of aggressive moves by Ukraine against Russia's Black Sea Fleet since the start of the full-scale invasion, including the sinking of the cruiser Moskva in April 2022 and a missile attack on the fleet's headquarters in occupied Crimea, resulting in reported casualties.