Ukraine reports sinking of Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov near Crimea

A Russian amphibious ship, the Caesar Kunikov, has sunk near the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea, as reported by Ukraine's armed forces. Local social media also mentioned hearing powerful explosions near the town of Yalta, suggesting that the landing ship had been hit. Ukraine has previously targeted Russia's Black Sea fleet in occupied Crimea. Last year, satellite images revealed that a significant portion of the fleet had left the peninsula. Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence released a video showing what they claimed were their naval drones striking the ship, named Magura V5. As Russia's conflict in Ukraine approaches its third year, Ukraine's armed forces chief has acknowledged the "extremely complex" situation. Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, recently appointed as the commander-in-chief, visited the front line shortly after a Russian missile attack claimed three lives in Selydove. While Russia's navy has not confirmed the sinking of the Caesar Kunikov in the Black Sea, they did acknowledge that six Ukrainian drones had been destroyed. Video footage indicating the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack was recently uploaded and verified by BBC. Ukraine's intelligence directorate stated that the ship, destroyed in Ukrainian territorial waters, suffered critical damage and began to sink. Russian military bloggers did not deny that the ship had been hit but only mentioned that the crew had survived. The Caesar Kunikov, which dates back to the Soviet era, would become the second successful strike in the Black Sea this month if its sinking is confirmed. Another Russian landing ship, the Novocherkassk, was hit while in port in Feodosiya in December.