Russia claims naval drone tried to attack Black Sea Fleet ships
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed a Ukrainian naval drone had attempted to attack Russian ships in the Black Sea late on Aug. 17 but was allegedly destroyed.
The vessels were "carrying out navigation control tasks" in the Black Sea's southwestern part, 237 kilometers from Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, the ministry said on Telegram.
Moscow claimed that two Russian patrol ships had destroyed the naval drone before it reached its destination. Kyiv hasn't commented on the incident.
Over the past weeks, a series of explosions took place in the Black Sea.
The Russian landing vessel Olenegorskiy Gornyak was reportedly hit by a naval surface drone on Aug. 4. CNN and several Ukrainian media outlets cited unnamed sources in Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), saying the operation was a joint endeavor between the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy.
In the early hours of Aug. 5, explosions were also heard near the Crimean Bridge. The Moscow Times reported that the naval drone attack on the Kerch Strait could have potentially damaged the Russian SIG chemical tanker.
Later in the day, the SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk made a statement on the recent surface drone attacks on Russian ships, effectively admitting that Ukraine was behind the attacks. He said such attacks are "absolutely logical" and "completely legal."
On Aug. 15, Ukraine's Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said that Ukrainian forces had already put out of action five large Russian military landing crafts since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in late July that Ukraine would continue to attack targets in Crimea to reduce Russia's fighting capacity and "help save the lives of Ukrainians."
