- Written by Thomas Mackintosh
- bbc news
image source, Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
Video released by Ukraine showing the Sergei Kotov allegedly damaged by a drone
A Russian patrol boat was damaged in a maritime drone attack in the Black Sea, Ukrainian intelligence said.
The Sergei Kotov is said to have been hit early Tuesday morning.
Ukrainian military intelligence said the Black Sea Fleet ship sustained damage to its stern and left and right sides.
The Kremlin has not yet commented. Some Russian pro-war bloggers acknowledged the attack.
Ukrainian intelligence official Andriy Yusov told Ukrainian broadcaster RFERL that sailors were killed and injured.
Sergei Kotov is one of four patrol vessels completed for the Russian Navy's Project 22160, and was also attacked by Ukraine in September last year.
The Moskva was sunk by Ukraine in 2022.
Ukraine said the cost of the sunken Sergei Kotov ship was $65 million (£51.2 million), adding that it was collided near the Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea and Russia.
Video posted on social media appears to show the moment the ship collided.
BBC Verify investigated a video released by Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate purporting to be about the attack.
This ship has similar structural characteristics to patrol vessels of the same class as Sergei Kotov. However, there is no number displayed on the side, so it is not clear from the video whether it is the same ship.
No other versions of the video appear in a reverse image search, suggesting that the video was published recently.
At least 13 Russian naval vessels have been destroyed or damaged since the start of the conflict, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.
Last month, another Russian amphibious ship, the Caesar Kunikov, was sunk by a drone attack just south of the town of Yalta.
Additional reporting by Joshua Cheetham.
