Ukraine Sinks Russian Missile Corvette 'Ivanovets' in the Black Sea near Occupied Crimea

Last night's successful attack by Ukrainian drones dealt another powerful blow to the Russian occupation fleet near the occupied Crimea and demonstrated the expansion of Ukraine's power in the Black Sea.

This is stated in a statement by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

Ukrainian military intelligence has published a video showing several naval drones attacking a Russian corvette, which ends with three dramatic shots of it tilting, exploding and sinking into the water.

A statement from the military intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reads: "As a result of a number of direct hits to the hull, the corvette was damaged, turned over to the stern and sank. The ship's value is approximately $60-70 million."

"The Ivanivets is a small combat missile ship with a crew of about 40 people. It is not yet known if there were any casualties, although this is highly likely given the speed and intensity of the attack.

Russia has not officially commented on the incident, but a number of pro-Kremlin military bloggers close to Moscow confirmed the Ukrainian military's report that the Ivanivets warship had been hit.

A few hours later, Western officials also stated that they believed the warship had been destroyed in an attack using long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.

Although Ukraine entered the Russian war without a navy, sinking its only frigate to prevent it from falling into Russian hands, Kyiv gradually rejected Moscow's early dominance of the Black Sea with long-range missile attacks and innovative use of maritime drones.

As a result, Russia was forced to withdraw the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in occupied Ukrainian Crimea to its Novorossiysk base on the Russian mainland.

After that, Ukraine was able to resume grain exports from Odesa and other nearby ports, returning them to pre-war levels.

Ukrainian-built maritime drones based on modified jet skis cost tens of thousands of dollars, work in flocks and can be controlled remotely. The video, released by the Ministry of Defence, is based on a selection of live drone footage, up to the moment of collision with Russian military targets.

Grant Shepps, the UK Defence Secretary, said last year that Russia had lost up to 20% of its Black Sea Fleet during the last four months of the year.