Russian intelligence ship returns to Sevastopol following naval drone attack

The Russian intelligence ship Ivan Khurs, part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has returned to Sevastopol. Video footage of the ship circulated on Telegram, and Russian news outlet Kommersant confirmed that the Ivan Khurs had returned to Sevastopol Bay.

The video footage is shot from both the starboard and port sides of the boat, and doesn’t appear to show any damage. 

The footage also showed the part of the boat’s hull where Ukrainian naval drones attacked the ship, according to videos that circulated on Ukrainian Telegram channels on May 25.

On May 25, a source with military contacts told Ukrainian Pravda that the drone attack had seriously damaged, but not sunk, the Ivan Khurs. Russian crews were doing emergency repairs to do the ship, according to the source.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that on the morning of May 24, Ukraine’s Armed forces had “attempted an unsuccessful attack” on the Ivan Khurs using three naval drones. The ministry said the drones “were destroyed by fire from standard weapons” and that the ship continued operations. The Ivan Khurs was reportedly involved in security missions related to the Black Sea TurkStream and Blue Stream natural gas pipelines.