Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate reported that the Ukrainian army had destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Ivanovets missile corvette on the night of February 1.
Ukrainian intelligence says that the army attacked the corvette while it was on a roadstead on Lake Donuzlav in annexed Crimea. “As a result of a number of direct hits to the hull, the corvette sustained damage incompatible with further movement, rolled to the stern, and sank,” the agency reported.
The intelligence agency published a video which allegedly shows the moment the corvette exploded. The edited video shows several naval drones attacking the vessel. The ship’s silhouette resembles the 1241 Molniya class of Russian missile corvettes, which Ivanovets belongs to. The video shows them firing at the drones. At the 2:05 minute mark, the ship heels, and can be seen sinking in the last few frames of the video.
Ukrainian intelligence says that Russian forces’ search and rescue efforts were not successful.
It’s not clear how many people were on board the ship and whether they were able to evacuate. 1241-class missile corvettes are designed for a crew of 40 people.
According to open source information, the Ivanovets corvette was commissioned in December 1989.
Russia’s Defense Ministry hasn’t commented on the Ukrainian intelligence’s statement.
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