Ukrainian Sea Drone Successfully Hits Russian Black Sea Fleet's Advanced Patrol Vessel

JAKARTA - Ukrainian marine drones damaged a state-of-the-art patrol vessel belonging to Russia's Black Sea Fleet off the occupied Crimea coast, Ukrainian military intelligence said on Tuesday.

The intelligence agency said through the Telegram messaging application, a special Group 13 unit attacked Russia's Black Sea Fleet patrol boat Sergey Kotov near the Kerch Strait.

"As a result of the Magura V5 maritime drone strike, the Russian Project 22160 Sergey Kotov suffered damage to the stern, right and left sides," the message reads, adding the ship was worth as much as USD 65 million.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said via Telegram on Tuesday, "The Russian Black Sea Fleet is a symbol of occupation. It should not be in Ukraine's Crimea," which appeared to refer to the attack.

Meanwhile, as a result of the attack, rail traffic was temporarily suspended on the bridge linking the Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia, according to Telegram channel, a pro-Russian official in Crimea.

Highway traffic was also suspended for several hours, before reopening before 07.00 GMT, according to a Telegram channel from the authority that manages the bridge.

Reuters was unable to verify the report. Russia's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Citing the Navy Recognition, Sergey Kotov (383) is part of Project 22160's patrol boat project. This class ship first served in 2018. A total of four patrol boats of this class are already operational and two are in planning. All of them are allocated to the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet.

Sergey Kotov, who was launched on January 29 and started on July 30, 2022, has a length of 94 meters and a width of 14 meters, weighing between 1,300 tons to 1,700 tons.

The ship is powered by a combination of diesel engines and gas turbines, allowing them to reach speeds of 25 to 30 knots, with a distance of 6,000 miles and a durability of 60 days.

Project 22160 patrol boats are equipped with a number of advanced systems, including Pal-N and Pozitiv-MK radars, Sphera-2 optoelectronic stations, as well as electronic warfare devices and a TK-25 decoy. The patrol boat is manned by 80 sailors and can carry one Kamov Ka-27 or Ka-226 helicopter.

In terms of weaponry, the ship is armed with an automatic multipurpose rifle AK-176MA 76.2 mm and various air defense systems, including the SAM Tor-M2KM system and the 3S90M VLS air defense system.

The ship also has a 2\times 14.5 mm MTPU machine gun and a variety of anti-crossbotage automatic grenade launcher systems, as well as module containers containing 324 mm torpedoes, 3M24 anti-ship missiles, to Kalibr-NK cruise missiles.