Russia says it foiled a Ukrainian attack in the Black Sea on Thursday, August 17. The attack was reportedly carried out with a naval drone against the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, where the number of clashes has increased since Moscow’s withdrawal from the grain agreement in mid-July. On Thursday “at 10:55 p.m. (19:55 GMT, editor’s note), the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out an unsuccessful attempt to attack (against) the boats of the Black Sea Fleet with an unmanned boat”, said reports the Russian Ministry of Defense on the social network Telegram.
The targeted ships, according to Moscow, “were performing shipping control tasks in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, 237 kilometers southwest of Sevastopol”, the headquarters of the local Russian fleet. At the time of the response, “the unmanned enemy boat was destroyed by fire…from the ships of the Black Sea Fleet – the patrol boat Pytlivyi and the patrol boat Vasily Bykov,” the ministry added. The craft did not reach its target, according to the same source, and “the (Russian) ships continue to perform their tasks”.
Naval drones have targeted Russian ships several times in recent weeks since Moscow refused in mid-July to renew a UN-brokered deal that allowed Ukrainian grain exports. On August 5, a tanker from Russia “carrying fuel for Russian soldiers” was hit by Ukrainian aircraft and explosives in the Kerch Strait, according to Kiev security services.
Ukraine also said it had attacked Russia’s Novorossiysk naval base in the Black Sea on August 4 using drones, when Moscow for its part assured that it had repelled a Ukrainian attempt involving “two unmanned boats” against this base. .
The patrol vessel Vasily Bykov has also been involved in several recent episodes in the Black Sea: on August 1, when Moscow said it repelled a Ukrainian naval drone attack against this vessel and another patrol vessel, but also on Sunday, when the Vasily Bykov fired warning shots at a freighter heading for the port of Izmail in southern Ukraine, according to Russian Defense.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the departure of a first cargo ship from the Black Sea port of Odessa a “significant milestone”, in a challenge to Russia, which has been threatening to sink such vessels since its withdrawal. of the grain agreement.
