In the early hours of Friday, images and videos were reported on social media showing a Russian warship tilted heavily in the Black Sea, by a marine drone attack, near the Novorossiysk naval base. The Russian Defense Ministry had previously claimed the attack had been repelled, but the footage appeared to tell a different story.
A marine drone attacks the Russian vessel
According to a Ukrainian source, a marine drone loaded with 450 kilograms of TNT carried out the attack. It is estimated that around 100 Russian servicemen were on board the ship at the time of the attack. The source revealed that the damaged ship was the “Olenogorsky Gornyak”, an amphibious landing ship belonging to the Russian navy.
Marine drone video
A 36-second video shows an unmanned marine drone approaching the Russian vessel. The quality of the video makes it difficult to clearly identify the target, but it appears to match the description of the damaged ship that was subsequently found in the port of Novorossiysk. The video shows how the drone approaches the vessel in the dead of night before the recording comes to an end.
Contradictory versions
Earlier, Russia had alleged to have intercepted two Ukrainian maritime drones. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the ships were visually detected and destroyed by the standard weapons of Russian vessels guarding the outer harbor of the naval base.
The version provided by the Ukrainian source raises doubts about the situation. They also suggest that the attack may have caused serious damage to the Russian warship.
It is important to note that the situation is still developing; Therefore, the authorities of both countries are expected to offer more details and perspectives in the coming hours.
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