Ukraine claimed to have sunk a Russian warship named Ivanovets near Crimea on February 1, marking another significant blow to the Russian Navy.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency posted a video showing its sea drones repeatedly hitting and destroying the Ivanovets.
According to the reports, the Ukrainian military used up to six sea drones, each carrying a 300 kg warhead, to destroy the warship Ivanovets, which is estimated to cost about $60 million to $70 million.
🔥 «Івановєц» на дні ― внаслідок спецоперації ГУР МО знищено ракетний корабель ворога
🔗 https://t.co/b8MQb3KJrk pic.twitter.com/Tu6uuaF2rt— Defence intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) February 1, 2024
While Russian officials have not commented on the incident yet, some pro-Russian bloggers have admitted that sea drones hit the Ivanovets.
A day prior to this attack, Ukraine conducted massive strikes on various targets across the occupied Crimea.
Ukraine had previously stated that its strikes on Crimea and Russian ships were intended to isolate the peninsula and make it more challenging for Russia to sustain its military operations on the Ukrainian mainland.
Ukraine’s strikes on the Russian Navy in the Black Sea helped push back Moscow’s naval forces, allowing Kyiv to increase exports of grain and other goods through its southern regions.
The Ukrainian military repeatedly targeted the Crimea bridge, connecting Russia and Crimea, with sea drones and missiles to disrupt logistic support for Russian forces in the occupied territory.
Currently, Ukraine has several types of sea drones, and there are ongoing developments to create more sophisticated drones.
In November of last year, Ukraine initiated an international crowdfunding campaign with the goal of raising $25 million to acquire 100 domestically built naval drones. Each drone is priced at $250,000, aiming to enhance strikes on Russian ships and ports.
While the Ukrainian military targeted several warships with sea drones, causing severe damage, sinking a Russian Navy corvette is another significant victory for Ukraine, following the Moskva incident in 2022.
Russia accused Patriot system in downing of IL76
In another event, Russia accused the US-made Patriot air defence system of being behind the downing of an IL-76 military transport plane that crashed last week.
Last week, a Russian Il-76 plane crashed in the Belgorod region of Russia. Initially, the Ukrainian General Staff reportedly stated that the plane was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles. However, a few hours later, Russia accused Ukraine of downing the Il-76 plane, which was allegedly transporting 65 Ukrainian POWs (Prisoners Of War) for an exchange at the border. Meanwhile, Ukraine did not take responsibility for the downing of the IL-76 plane. Both countries’ claims have not been independently verified by The News Mill.
Now, Russia has accused Ukraine of using the US-made Patriot System to shoot down its IL-76 plane. Last month, Ukraine also claimed to have downed an A50 AEW&CS and damaged the IL22 air command centre, which managed to land safely after being hit.
The US-made Patriot PAC-2, with a range of 160 km, surpassing other air defence systems in the Ukrainian arsenal, is suspected to be responsible for the downing of these planes.
Conclusion
Both the Russian Navy and Aerospace Forces are repeatedly losing high-value warships and planes worth hundreds of dollars, causing significant trouble for the Russian military.
