Russia’s defeat in the Black Sea is a “great victory” for Ukraine

(CNN) — North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg hailed Ukraine’s recent advances in the Black Sea as a “great achievement” after Kiev’s military intelligence agency said on Wednesday it had destroyed the Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov. Maritime drone attack.

Asked about the incident at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, Stoltenberg said in general terms that “the Ukrainians are capable of causing enormous damage to the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” and that it is a “great achievement, a great victory.” Ukrainian.

The NATO chief also said the fact that Ukrainian armed forces have driven the Russian fleet away from the Black Sea and opened a corridor allowing them to export grain and other commodities to the world market.

“Some people believe that this was possible only a few months ago. But now, in fact, grain export from Ukraine takes place even without agreement with Russia. So this shows the skill and potential of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Stoltenberg said. This is a result of the skill of Ukrainian forces, he said, but NATO support has also been important.

Ukraine says it has disabled a third of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea

Ukraine says it has disabled a third of Russia’s Black Sea fleet after its military intelligence team said it sank another Russian warship in a maritime drone attack off the coast of Crimea on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian military intelligence agency said on Telegram that the Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov was attacked by a “Magura” V5 drone, which left “significant holes” in its left side before it sank.

“Ukraine has disabled a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet during a massive offensive,” the country’s military told CNN after Wednesday’s attack.

This is in line with Ukrainian claims last week that they had disabled about 33% of Russian warships, the equivalent of 24 ships and one submarine. According to Ukraine’s calculations, the landing ship Caesar Kunikov will be the 25th ship disabled.

Wednesday’s attack was carried out by the agency’s “Group 13” special forces unit in cooperation with Ukrainian security and defense forces, according to the statement.

Nighttime footage provided by Ukraine showed a maritime drone moving towards the Caesar Kunikov before a large plume of smoke rose from the ship.