Russian Black Sea ship 'damaged in drone attack'

A Russian patrol ship has been damaged after being attacked by sea drones in the Black Sea, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

The Sergei Kotov, which was launched in 2021, was allegedly hit in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Ukraine's military intelligence service said the Black Sea fleet ship suffered damage to the stern as well as right and left sides.

The Kremlin is yet to comment.

The Sergei Kotov is one of four patrol ships completed for the Russian Navy's Project 22160. According to Ukraine, the vessel played a part in the attack on Snake Island, along with the Moskva cruiser.

The Moskva was sunk in 2022, months into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine almost 10 years ago. In recent months Ukraine has repeatedly hit Russia's Black Sea fleet stationed on the peninsula.

Ukraine said the cost of the sunken ship was $65m (£51.2m), adding that it was hit near the Kerch Strait which separates Crimea from Russia.

Last month, another Russian amphibious ship, the Caesar Kunikov, was sunk off in a drone attack just south of the town of Yalta.