Russia’s most modern spy warship ‘is attacked by marine drones in the Black Sea’
- The Ivan Khurs reconnaissance ship was in international waters in the Black Sea
- Moscow claimed it suffered several drone attacks but did not report casualties
One of Vladimir Putin’s most modern spy warships was attacked by marine drones in the Black Sea, according to Russian sources.
Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs was buzzed by three marine drones, the Russian defence ministry-aligned Rybar Telegram channel reported.
The Yury Ivanov-class ship, launched in 2017, was in international waters in the Black Sea some 40 nautical miles north of the Bosphorus Strait at the time of the attack.
‘There is reason to believe that the drones were launched from a commercial civilian vessel,’ the channel said, adding the Russian vessel ‘repelled’ the alleged attack and suffered no casualties.
One Telegram channel later alleged the ship had been attacked from a grain-carrying vessel – but this was disputed by Russian sources.
It comes as smoke was seen pouring from the giant £3 billion Russian-controlled Crimean bridge, prompting suspicions it had also suffered an attack.
Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs
The Yury Ivanov-class ship, launched in 2017, was in international waters in the Black Sea some 40 nautical miles north of the Bosphorus Strait at the time of the attack
A local radio station posted footage of the Kerch bridge smoking on social media
This video circulating on social media shows a wide view of the huge smoke cloud billowing from the Crimean bridge
The bridge was sensationally attacked last October, causing significant structural damage
This file aerial picture taken on November 08, 2022 and released by the Russian federal road agency Rosavtodor shows restoring works on damaged parts of the Kerch Bridge that links Crimea to Russia, which was hit by a blast on October 8, 2022
The Kerch bridge, which links the Crimean peninsula to the Russian region of Krasnodar, was reopened on Wednesday after being closed for several hours for ‘exercises’, an official from Crimea’s Russian-backed administration said.
‘The Crimean Bridge is closed due to an exercise being held in the area,’ said the Putin-appointed head of annexed Crimea Sergei Aksyonov.
‘Traffic will be restored in a few hours.
‘I’m urging everyone to trust only trusted sources of information.’
It was not clear what was meant by exercises.
Video footage posted to Telegram showed white smoke billowing from the main central span of the bridge, and more smoke rising from one of the approaches to the crossing point.
In recent days Russia banned all trucks from the bridge, with Putin’s deputy premier citing ‘security concerns’ when announcing the decision.
On May 3, a drone strike triggered a huge explosion at an oil storage depot close to the bridge, prompting suspicions Ukrainian armed forces could attempt to conduct another strike.
24 May 2023 – Smoke on the Crimean Bridge, described by Russian media as the result of ‘military drills’
Car and railway traffic stopped after an October 2022 explosion at the Crimean Bridge damaged both lines
In light of the suspected attacks on Russia’s spy ship and the Crimean bridge, Moscow spymaster Sergey Naryshkin blasted Britain and the US at a security conference near Moscow
The 12-mile road and rail bridge was damaged by an explosion last October, in an attack that the Kremlin said had been orchestrated by Ukrainian security forces, though Ukraine did not claim responsibility.
Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, but is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine.
In light of the suspected attacks on Russia’s spy ship and the Crimean bridge, Moscow spymaster Sergey Naryshkin blasted Britain and the US at a security conference near Moscow.
Part of the Kremlin’s narrative surrounding the war in Ukraine is that Kyiv’s forces are mere puppets being controlled by their Western masters.
‘The Anglo-Saxons should be advised to deal with their own internal civil conflicts,’ the head of Putin’s SVR foreign intelligence agency said.
‘Or even better go to their long-term friend, the devil.’
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