Ukraine 'sinks' ANOTHER Russian warship as drone shoots down Caesar Kunikov in 'Valentine's Day surprise for Putin'
HUMILIATED Vladimir Putin has lost another of his prized warships in a drone attack.
Images show the ship going up in flames off the south coast of annexed Crimea.
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UkraineAccording to the intelligence agency, the 110-meter landing ship Caesar Kunikov was sunk early this morning after being fired upon.
The huge ship that was used by Putin's armed forces to transport missiles and drones for attacks on Ukraine.
Russia attempted a major sea rescue operation involving boats and a submarine.
Two Russian Mi-8 helicopters were seen frantically flying back and forth to the scene.
One video shows a subsequent massive explosion, possibly the detonation of the stricken warship's ammunition.
The Crimean Wind Telegram channel – a Ukrainian source – reported: “The Main Intelligence Directorate decided to congratulate the occupiers on Valentine's Day in their own way.”
Russia has not yet officially commented on the sinking, a major blow to Putin's Black Sea Fleet, and the fate of the usually 87-strong crew is unclear.
The Caesar Kunikov was damaged earlier in the war, and its then captain Alexander Chirva died of injuries in 2022.
According to flight tracking portal Flightradar, an American Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk reconnaissance drone flew south of the incident and made repeated loops over the Black Sea.
It was located between 100 and 120 kilometers south of the incident, before apparently returning to its base in Malta.
Ukrainian sources said there were no sounds of missiles or drones.
The war-torn country has previously used kamikaze drones to attack Russian warships.
Two weeks ago, Ukraine destroyed the £55 million Black Sea missile ship Ivanovets.
The 184-foot warship was hit by multiple drones off annexed Crimea.
The operation was led by special units of Group 13 of the Ukrainian military intelligence service GUR.
The list of sunken ships includes the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of Putin's Black Sea Fleet, which was hit by Neptune missiles in April 2022.
Putin has still not given an accurate toll for the losses in the submerged Moskva.
Several large landing ships have been sunk, including the most recent the Novocherkasskwhich was minted on December 26, 2023.
At least 33 sailors were feared dead.
Russian naval losses
VLADIMIR Putin has been left red-faced by a series of naval losses during the war in Ukraine.
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