from
https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-destroys-russia-brand-65-154654333.html

(This ship was 308' long, about the same as a WWII Destroyer Escort.)

Ukraine Destroys Russia’s Brand-New $65 Million Warship
Allison Quinn
Tue, March 5, 2024 at 7:46 AM PST·2 min read
972

Ministry of Defense of Ukraine/Handout via Reuters
Ministry of Defense of Ukraine/Handout via Reuters

Ukraine has destroyed the newest patrol ship of Russia’s Black Sea
Fleet, the $65 million Sergei Kotov, and left pro-Kremlin war reporters
sulking.

“As a result of a strike by Magura V5 maritime drones, the Russian
Project 22160 ship Sergei Kotov received damage to the stern, starboard
and left sides,” Ukrainian military intelligence said in a statement.

“The fewer such ships, the fewer anti-aircraft missile systems will be
deployed on them, meaning more opportunities for Ukrainian security and
defense forces,” spokesman Andriy Yusov told local media, adding that
more than 10 ambulances were spotted rushing to help the evacuated crew
members. At least seven crew members were killed, Ukrainian authorities
said.

Audio of what Ukraine described as an intercepted radio communication
also appeared to capture a Russian commander reporting on the “tragic
event” and destruction of the ship, lamenting that a helicopter had also
been obliterated in the nighttime attack near the Kerch Strait.

The 308-foot, 1,700-ton ship entered the Black Sea Fleet in July 2022.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has yet to comment on the incident, though
pro-Kremlin military bloggers begrudgingly admitted that Ukraine had
pulled off the attack.

“If it continues like this, the Black Sea Fleet will have only
catamarans and rubber banana boats for vacationers. It’s fucked,” wrote
one popular pro-war Telegram channel.

The Sergei Kotov had been targeted in three previous attacks by
Ukrainian forces before finally being taken out this time around. Noting
that Russia had plenty of defenses in place to protect the ship, pro-war
propagandist Alexander Kots said that “unfortunately, the enemy is also
evolving.”

“The crew fought heroically until the end. … But this time it is a story
without a happy ending,” he wrote on social media.

“The ship ‘Sergei Kotov’ sunk,” wrote former Vladimir Putin adviser
Sergei Markov, calling it part of a “new type of war” in which “what
matters most are the multitude of drones, space reconnaissance, and
electronic warfare.”

“This is where we need to overtake the West,” he said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Ukraine war: Kyiv says seven dead as drone attack sinks Russian
ship(Ship was 308' long, about the same as a small