The roots of Russia's invasion of Ukraine go back decades and run deep
The current conflict is more than one country fighting to take over another; it is — in the words of one U.S
official — a shift in "the world order."Here are some helpful stories to make sense of it all
A Russian ship named Caesar Kunikov passes through the Dardanelles strait in Turkey en route to the Mediterranean Sea
Ukraine — Ukraine's military says it sank a large Russian landing ship in the Black Sea off the coast of occupied Crimea
although Russia's government has so far not confirmed the incident
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with the units of the [defense intelligence] @DI_Ukraine, destroyed the Caesar Kunikov large landing ship. At the time of the attack, the ship was in the territorial waters of Ukraine, near Alupka," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on X
Ukraine said it used maritime strike drones in the attack
a city on the southern coast of the Crimean Peninsula
Ukraine's general staff said the ship could carry 87 crew members
The Kremlin declined to comment to journalists
saying it was a matter for the Defense Ministry
Earlier in the day, Russia's Defense Ministry said it had destroyed six drones over the Black Sea
Ukraine's military intelligence said it intercepted Russian radio communications from where the ship was moored. In one conversation, the agency said in a statement
a Russian soldier was allegedly heard saying only "wreckage and an oily stain" remained of the Russian vessel
The reports came as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine nears its second anniversary this month
Ukraine has previously used naval drones to drive Russian warships out of parts of the Black Sea
That has helped open a shipping corridor for Ukraine's grain exports
which Ukrainian authorities now say are at prewar levels
NPR's Charles Maynes contributed reporting from Moscow
Become an NPR sponsor
One of the most influential persons of Russia
actively develops the Southern Shore of Crimea
lucrative land plots are transferred or expropriated from local residents; buildings are destroyed; Massandra vineyards and unique forests are erased; property and businesses of local entrepreneurs and even unique tourist objects are eliminated
Gref replaces them with multi-billion palaces and hotels
Russian Crimean «authorities» are waiters who deliver their hungry «guest» new and more delicious meals
Luxury hotel complex Mriya Resort & Spa in Opolzneve village in Great Yalta is owned by «Sberbank Russia» through LLC «Garant-SV» and its founders LLC «Auktsyon» and «Gamma-S»
The Ukrainian office of «Sberbank Russia» launched its construction before the Russian occupation of Crimea
adopted beneficial taxation regime for this «strategic investor»
Half built sanatorium of the Ministry of Civil Aviation of USSR has been completely erased
It was built for the personnel of Kyiv Avia Factory
the developer of the largest plane in the world – AN-225
better known under the name «Mriya» [Dream]
Founders of current hotel complex borrowed name «Mriya» and destroyed everything else
Half built sanatorium of the Ministry of Civil Aviation of USSR
In August 2014, Putin held the session of the Russian National Security Council and meetings with members of the Russian State Duma in not-yet-completed «Mriya». He recognized the use of Russian troops during so-called Crimean referendum
Mriya Resort & Spa became one of the most expensive hotel complexes in Crimea. Yalta International Economic Forum was conducted each year in «Mriya». This investment forum hosted propagandist forum of «friends of Russian occupation of Crimea»
This activity of the hotel caused the US to impose sanctions on its founder LLC «Garant-SV» in November 2018
The Center of Journalist Investigations told the story of «Mriya» and its role in the Russian occupation of Crimea in an investigation «How sanctioned hotel «Mriya» wins World Travel Awards»
Now complex Mriya Resort & Spa together with «Wine Park» occupies 50 hectares of the land near the sea shore
Herman Gref announced recently the construction of another hotel near «Mriya» – with 420 rooms («Mriya» has 425 rooms)
«Hotel complex will be built into existing landscape
into the city… it will be astonishing project»
We will expand the beach by 25 meters into the sea»
Local residents call «dachas of Herman Gref» new luxury residential complex in Alupka
built on the location of destroyed Soviet time sanatorium «Zlatoust»
The scale of construction works can be seen on amateur video made in 2021
The story begins in 2008. The CJI covered it in 2014 within the special project «Masters of Crimean Beaches». LLC «Inter-Resurs-Servis», registered at Palatsove shose, 34, bought sanatorium «Zlatoust» (former Soviet «Southern Ural»). The company leased the largest beach of Alupka (400 meters long) for 49 years
The company was founded by two Simferopol LLCs with final beneficiaries
Alupka company «Sulanzh» and asset management company «Akers invest»
Ukrainian oligarch and former member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the pro-Russian Party of Regions
After the Russian occupation of Crimea, the Russian State Register of Legal Entities registered Russian clone of Ukrainian company «Interstar-Resurs-Servis». There are now three founders of this company: LLC «Sulanzh» (30%), «Avangard-Invest» (35%) and Pavel Batrybekovich Tischenko (35%)
Together with son of the head of «Sberbank» Oleg Gref, Tischenko founded LLC «Neva Invest Group» on property sale in Saint Petersburg in 2017
Yakov Khor is listed among founders of «Rutek»
Khor family has also construction business. Their company «Riviera» (Yakov Khor has been among its founders until 2019) received several construction contracts in Crimea – development of territories of monasteries in Fiolent and Inkerman
reconstruction of Akhmatova park and park of Victory in Sevastopol
«Riviera» received over 800 million Rubles for the reconstruction of the park of Victory
and city administration filed law suit against the company
«Riviera» participated in the construction of «Mriya»
Gleb Khor was awarded the Order «For Fidelity to Duty» by Sergii Aksyonov
Russian deputy-businessman Gleb Khor (left) and Russian «Head of Crimea» Sergii Aksyonov
Former «Zlatoust» is adjacent to the gorgeous park of famous Vorontsov Palace
Former Soviet sanatorium has been turned into luxury residential complex with over 200 apartments (from 27 to 700 square meters)
Final completion of the complex has been delayed several times. Now it is expected at the end of 2024. Average price of luxury property there is over 517 thousand Rubles (almost 6 thousand USD) per square meter. In accordance with service наш.дом.рф
Now there is a turn for another interesting story – how Gref broke unique Crimean rope road
is among ten unique engineering objects of the world
from middle station «Sosnovy bor» to upper station «Ai Petri»
is the longest part of rope road in Europe without pillars
The role of pillars is played by moving cars of the road
It is among the most visited tourist objects of Crimea
Its cars moved visitors within 15 minutes to the height of 1 152 meters – from lower station «Miskhor» to Ai Petri Mountain
Since 1994, the rope road has been leased by Leri Georgiyovych Svanidze and his wife Nadia Grygoriivna Olifer through their LLCs «Olimp» and «Startinvest»
64 years old Leri Svanidze is known person in Great Yalta
This man of Georgian origin made business and political career in Ukrainian Crimea
he was elected to the Koreiz Village Council and in 2010 he became the speaker of this Council
he has been a member of occupation Yalta City Council from Russian political party «United Russia»
But he suddenly resigned upon his own will
Rope road has been very lucrative business
It served millions of visitors and brought a fortune to Svanidze family
«Startinvest» revealed 43.5 million Rubles of profit
Russian occupation authorities of Yalta awarded it the prize «Best Taxpayer»
However, in 2020, «Yalta administration» cancelled leasing agreement with «Startinvest» in court. The company tried to appeal the court decision but in 2023 it withdrew its lawsuit
In October 2022, assets of rope road were transferred to new leasing company – recently created LLC «Rus»
He is also member of «Public Chamber of Sevastopol»
This «Rus» has only one employee with half a million salary
It should be noted that «Startinvest» has had over 80 employees and hired additional employees in the summer to service the rope road
Why successful company and «best taxpayer» «Startinvest» was suddenly deprived of its business
At the end of 2022, assets of rope road, three stations and three land plots, were transferred from municipal to republican ownership
Occupation authorities announced that investor was going to invest 150 million Rubles into modernization of rope road
There is no secret here. New investor is not «Rus» and Kudryavtsev. It is LLC «Mriya.Pro», managed by «Mriya»
Today Leri Svanidze is the head of department of resorts and tourism of «Yalta administration». He looks happy in his account in Russian VKontakte and praises Russia and Putin
He participates in rallies and meetings organized by «Sberbank»…
Leri Svanidze at the forum of the Academy of Hospitality
Russian authorities promised to open rope road before the season of 2023
«Mayor of Yalta» Yanina Pavlenko announced that the road would start not from lower but from middle station
She argued it was necessary to avoid traffic jam
there is a narrow «bottleneck» and a lot of cars»
However, local residents suggested another reason for the closure of lower station. It stands on the road between new «dacha of Gref»and hotel «Mriya». A lot of cars and people were a problem for luxury clients of the hotel. Local residents wrote the following comments on local online forums:
«Somebody needs to free road in Miskhor from ordinary people
«Everybody knows that he has dacha near lower gates to Vorontsov Part… large wooden gates are the entrance to his dacha
He did not life traffic jam on the road to his dacha
it has four letters… «Mriya» is his asset»
«Somebody stole lower station of the rope road
I will not be surprised if Gref (such an awful name!) is involved into this affair
How tourists will get to middle station without cars
There is long way from the road to the station
This rotten Gref sucks Southern Shore of Crimea
There is a natural reserve around middle station
It is interesting to see what they will do with the forest around
there is no space for parking lot there»…
«Mriya» stole rope road and we are told that it was optimization…»
And now recall the address of intermediary company «Rus»
52 is the address of the lower station of the rope road
Closed lower station of rope road «Miskhor»
Now it starts from middle station «Sosnovy bor»
Forest with unique pines was cut for parking lot…
after the USA and other countries imposed sanctions on the bank
Some say that he de facto settled in Alupka
Alupka won the grant of Russian federal national project «Tourism and hospitality industry» for the development of city center
It is rumored that Gref could have lobbied the victory of Alupka grant proposal
The federal budget allocated over 250 million Rubles for the project within 2022-2024
Electric grid was hidden under the ground; water and sewage systems were changed; several private houses were destroyed
This year «golden rain» fell down on Vorontsov Palace. Unknown sponsor donated 223 million Rubles to replace existing pavement with more reliable and expensive stones. The procurement has been conducted without competition. New stones were supplied by LLC «Garden City»
Yefimkin Igor Vasylyovych is among the founders of the company
He has been co-founder of above mentioned LLC «Riviera» which worked for «Mriya»
the supplier comes from the inner circle of Gref…
Local residents say that Gref likes morning runs around Vorontsov Park
Its pavement should correspond to luxury sports shoes of Gref…
It is remarkable that Gref has conducted frequent inspection visits to Alupka
together with Russian «Head of Crimea» Aksyonov and Metropolitan Tikhon
Herman Gref (center) and Metropolitan Tikhon (right) in Alupka
its development program until 2035 includes construction of congress hall
Natural Park as well as wine and mountain clusters
It means that Gref is going to «master» Ai Petri
It was presented under slogans of protection of unique nature of Ai Petri
Aksyonov announced that only station of rope road would be left intact
It was rumored at that time that «Sberbank» was going to become the only owner of tourist infrastructure of Ai Petri
Later occupation authorities declared that ski resort would be built there
But they dropped this plan as there was a shortage of water sources for artificial snow
Destruction of buildings at Ai Petri plateau
It is unknown who develops Ai Petri now. Its website calls it Mountain Park
It advertises and sells tickets for rope road and proposes commercial property for lease
Presence of «Sberbank» was confirmed by presentation of art object «Whisper of mountains» at Ai Petri
Art object «Whisper of mountains» at Ai Petri
This art object was offered by Ural office of «Sberbank»
«Art object was opened within celebration of the 10th anniversary of Mriya Resort & SPA
It is a symbol of unity of Crimean and Ural Mountains»
as reported press service of Crimean resort
It added that «Whisper» is the first out of ten compositions to be offered by various offices of «Sberbank»
Gref told at the opening that it was the very beginning of the development of tourist zone in Ai Petri
He announced that new rope road would be opened next year because existing one «did not correspond to modern requirements
The new one will be 22 times more effective…»
«At the same time we develop sea shore – we erase illegal ugly buildings
We would like to make two open accessible beaches
we work on destroying illegal infrastructure and construction of new beach complexes»
new colonizer of Great Yalta comes and destroys everything he does not like
Tags: Mriya Resort & Spa
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur
Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war
Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and had previously worked with news outlets including the Daily Express
You can get in touch with Isabel by emailing i.vanbrugen@newsweek.com or by following her on X @isabelvanbrugen
either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter
or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources
Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content
A video circulating on Telegram channels appears to show a Russian warship on fire after reports emerged that Ukrainian drones destroyed the large landing ship Caesar Kunikov in the Black Sea
Citing a source in Ukrainian military intelligence
Ukrainian publication Ukrainska Pravda reported that the Ropucha-class landing ship was sunk on Wednesday after an attack by Kyiv
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence also released a video that purportedly shows the moment its drones struck the vessel
it said the warship was struck by MAGURA V5 sea drones off the annexed Crimean Peninsula
The Caesar Kunikov was damaged on its left side and began to sink
The post added that it is symbolic that the Russian officer after whom the ship was named was killed exactly 81 years ago
Newsweek couldn't immediately verify the authenticity of the videos and has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces described the warship's destruction in a statement
together with the Main Intelligence Directorate
destroyed the large landing ship Caesar Kunikov
it was in the territorial waters of Ukraine near Alupka," the General Staff said in a statement on its social media pages
The Crimean Wind channel said Wednesday that residents of Yalta
Alupka and Miskhor in Crimea heard five explosions
The Kremlin has yet to comment on the reports
Earlier the Russian Defense Ministry said that it had destroyed six drones in the Black Sea
Ukraine has inflicted extensive damage on Russia's Black Sea Fleet since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022
a missile attack by Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol reportedly killed several leading officers and destroyed a Russian submarine
At least 37 Russian sailors were reportedly killed when Kyiv destroyed the landing ship Novocherkassk in December
Earlier this month, Ukrainian naval drones destroyed Russia's missile-armed corvette Ivanovets near Crimea in a nighttime operation
Ukraine said MAGURA V5 sea drones were also used in that attack
The Ukrainian Armed Forces Center for Strategic Communications (StratCom) said Kyiv's forces had by February 6 "disabled" about 33 percent of the Back Sea Fleet's warships
"According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
our military disabled 24 Russian ships and one submarine," it said in a post on Telegram
as of the beginning of the full-scale invasion
the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation consisted of 74 warships," StratCom added
"Aggression against Ukraine is harmful to your fleet."
ET: This article has been updated with additional information
Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering
Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground
Newsletters in your inbox See all
You don't have permission to access the page you requested
What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed
Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics
Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations
Ukraine destroyed a Russian landing warship off the coast of occupied Crimea in an operation with naval drones that breached the vessel’s port side on Wednesday (14 February) and caused it to start sinking
Kyiv’s military spy agency and armed forces said
News Service Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to journalistic standards
together with the Defence Ministry's intelligence unit
destroyed the Tsezar Kunikov large landing ship
in Ukraine's territorial waters near Alupka
the military said on Telegram messenger [Nexta on X
The Ukrainian Main Directorate of Intelligence released footages of an USV attack against a Russian Ropucha-Class landing ship. This confirms the sinking of the Caesar Kunikov.Source: https://t.co/Rf0BNodT04#Ukraine #Crimea pic.twitter.com/I3J2TRig8Q
Ukraine struck a large Russian landing warship in Crimea with cruise missiles in an attack that could hinder any Russian attempt to seize more Ukrainian territory along the Black Sea coast
Near the shores of temporarily occupied Crimea this morning, February 14, explosions were heard and smoke was visible at sea. Eyewitnesses report that the explosions were caused by a fire on one of the Russian ships. This was reported by the Telegram channel 'Crimean Wind'.It is also emphasized that there is noticeable activity in the sea involving several ships
The loudest explosions were heard near Simeiz and the village of Katsiveli. According to eyewitnesses
at least two helicopters are flying over the sea near Simeiz and Alupka
the Russian Ministry of Defense purportedly reported a 'repelled' attack by drones
a total of nine 'Ukrainian' drones were allegedly intercepted and destroyed. Of these
two were supposedly over the Belgorod region
together with units of the Main Intelligence Directorate
destroyed the Russian large landing ship 'Caesar Kunikov' near Alupka
This was reported on Facebook by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As noted by the General Staff
the ship was in the territorial waters of Ukraine near Alupka (Crimea)
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said this in a post on Facebook
the ship was in the territorial waters of Ukraine near Alupka (temporarily occupied Crimea)
also died on February 14 – but in 1943
soldiers of a special unit of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate destroyed the Ivanovets missile corvette of the Russian Black Sea Fleet
using Ukrainian-made MAGURA V5 naval drones
While citing and using any materials on the Internet
links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory
citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet
Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No
1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No
2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice
Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421
The Russian large landing ship Tsezar Kunikov was destroyed near Alupka
The ship was attacked by the Magura V5 strike naval drones
according to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine
The successful mission was carried out by the special forces of Group 13 of the Ministry of Defense's Intelligence on the night of February 14 in coordination with all components of the Ukrainian Defense Forces
"The enemy ship was attacked by Magura V5 strike naval drones near the shores of temporarily occupied Crimea
not far from the city of Alupka," the statement said
Intelligence notes that the ship sustained critical breaches on its left side and began to sink
the Russian officer for whom the ship was named was killed exactly 101 years ago
The intelligence explained that the Tsezar Kunikov ship
was one of the newest Russian vessels and could accommodate 87 crew members on board
It was used by Moscow during wars against Georgia
Intelligence notes that the occupiers' search and rescue operation was unsuccessful
explosions were heard in the vicinity of Alupka
and footage of smoke in the sea appeared on social media
the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have repelled a supposed drone attack
Later, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that a large landing ship of the occupiers, Tsezar Kunikov, was destroyed near the shores of temporarily occupied Crimea.
the ship was in Ukrainian territorial waters near Alupka
Ukrainian naval drones attacked and destroyed another Russian Black Sea Fleet landing ship
marking the latest significant loss for Moscow's navy ahead of the second anniversary of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion
Ukrainian-designed Magura V5 naval drones attacked Russia's Caesar Kunikov large landing ship near the southern Crimean city of Alupka
southeast of Russia's naval base at Sevastopol
said in a statement posted to social media
The uncrewed surface vehicles struck the left side of the vessel
described by Kyiv as "one of the newest Russian ships." Unverified night-vision footage published by the GUR appears to show Ukrainian waterborne strike drones approaching the Russian landing ship
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email
Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
the Black Sea emerged as a key battleground
which sits to the south of the mainland on the Black Sea
but has been controlled by the Kremlin's forces since its annexation in 2014
Ukraine has chipped away at Russia's naval assets in the Black Sea
successfully carrying out dramatic strikes deemed deeply embarrassing to Moscow
Russia's Black Sea operations have been "greatly complicated
if not paralyzed," by the nearly two years of all-out war between Moscow and Kyiv
Britain's defense minister, Grant Shapps, said in late December that Russia had lost 20 percent of its Black Sea fleet in the previous four months
The sinking of the Caesar Kunikov marks the third loss of a Ropucha-class landing ship for the Black Sea Fleet
Kyiv targeted the Ropucha-class Minsk with cruise missiles
government assessed the Minsk had "almost certainly been functionally destroyed." Ukraine's military said in late December 2023 that Kyiv had destroyed Russia's Novocherkassk landing ship in the eastern Crimean port of Feodosia
In early August 2023, Ukraine said its naval drones struck the Project 775 large landing ship, the Olenegorsky Gornyak
Landing ships aren't Ukraine's only target in the Black Sea. Kyiv has destroyed a Russian Kilo-class submarine, and in the initial stages of the war, Russia's Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, sank after what was believed to be a Ukrainian Neptune missile attack
In February, Ukraine said its military intelligence agency had destroyed a Russian missile-armed corvette, the Ivanovets, with seaborne drones. The vessel sustained a "number of direct hits to the hull" before sinking
ET: This article's headline was updated for clarity
Today in the Black Sea near Alupka, the BDK-64 "Caesar Kunikov" was destroyed, a fact that has already been officially confirmed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.Military expert Aleksandr Kovalenko discussed the characteristics of this ship and explained why its destruction is so significant
"The BDK "Caesar Kunikov," which had an incident this morning near Alupka
It was commissioned in 1986 and was built in Poland at the "Stocznia Polnocna" shipyard in Gdansk
These ships have recently been primarily used for transportation in the logistics chains of the Russian Navy
but they also have amphibious functionality
carrying 12 units of armored vehicles and up to 340 personnel
the question arises: at the time of the incident
no shipyard can build or even fully repair these ships."
together with the Defense Intelligence units
destroyed the Russian large amphibious assault ship Tsezar Kunikov
it was in Ukrainian territorial waters near Alupka
Sources used: Defense Intelligence of Ukraine
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirms destruction
The information about the destruction of the Russian ship Tsezar Kunikov in the Black Sea was first spread in the media
and by the so-called Russian "military commanders"
It was reported that the landing ship was hit by drones and subsequently sank
the information about the destruction of the ship was confirmed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
together with units of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine
the ship was in the territorial waters of Ukraine near Alupka," the General Staff says in a statement
According to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine
a successful mission to destroy Tsezar Kunikov was carried out by the special forces of Group 13 of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine
The enemy ship was attacked by Magura V5 maritime strike drones off the coast of the temporarily occupied Crimea near the city of Alupka
the Tsezar Kunikov got critical holes on the port side and began to sink..
The search and rescue operation of the occupiers was unsuccessful," the DIU notes
The intelligence also notes that this large landing ship was one of the newest Russian vessels
"The Tsezar Kunikov (BDK-64) is a large amphibious assault ship of Project 775
It was used by terrorist Russia during the wars against Georgia
It was put into service with the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy based in Sevastopol
it was part of the 197th Brigade of Landing Craft of the 39th Division of the Naval Landing Forces based in Novoozerne (Crimea)
It was named after the Soviet officer Tsezar Lvovich Kunikov
some people have already seen some symbolism in this
the Soviet officer after whom the ship was named was killed exactly 101 years ago
it used to be a patron ship of the city of Zelenograd (since 1998) and the Chelyabinsk region (since 2011)
"The Tsezar Kunikov took part in the KFOR operation in Kosovo (1999) and the Russian-Georgian war (2008)
and provided supplies to the Syrian army (2015)
the Tsezar Kunikov was repaired at the Fleet Arsenal shipyard in Varna
where it returned to the permanent readiness forces after the crew completed their training tasks
where he represented Russia at the IDEF-2015 international arms exhibition
the Tsezar Kunikov was sent to Syria with a cargo of ammunition and weapons for the Syrian army (Operation Syrian Express)
the steering system was repaired at the Black Sea Fleet's 13th shipyard
these ships have recently been used by the Russians mainly as transport
in the logistics chains of the occupation forces
Photo: At the beginning of the Russian invasion
Ukrainian soldiers tried to destroy the Tsezar Kunikov (wikipedia.org)
Ukraine had previously damaged this landing ship
At the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine
the Ukrainian Defense Forces had already tried to destroy the large amphibious assault ship Tsezar Kunikov
Ukrainian soldiers destroyed the large amphibious assault ship Saratov
while Tsezar Kunikov and Novocherkassk (later destroyed in the port of Feodosia on December 26) were damaged
Although the Tsezar Kunikov managed to escape
died of wounds he received in a battle with Ukrainian forces
the Russian Federation has relieved Admiral Viktor Sokolov from his position as commander of the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) following the destruction of the landing ship Tsezar Kunikov
Russian military commentators stated that Admiral Viktor Sokolov
"Drawing similarities with his predecessor
this is highly likely to be a result of Ukraine's success in sinking various ships under his command
Sokolov's leadership style may have also played a role in his dismissal," intelligence writes
the Ministry of Defense of Russia has not officially confirmed the information about the resignation
Sokolov has been replaced by Vice Admiral Sergiy Pinchuk
who will serve as acting commander of the Black Sea Fleet until the completion of the internal investigation into the sinking of the Tsezar Kunikov
Destruction of the Russian ship Tsezar Kunikov
and footage of smoke in the sea circulated online
Later, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that a large landing ship of the occupiers
was destroyed near the coast of temporarily occupied Crimea
The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine showcased a video of the sinking of the Russian landing ship
noting that it was attacked by the Magura V5 naval drones
Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, stated that most of the crew of the Russian landing ship Tsezar Kunikov, which was destroyed in the Black Sea, didn't manage to save
For more information about the Tsezar Kunikov ship, read this article
On September 22, 2023, a missile strike was launched on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. According to Special Operations Forces data, 34 officers were killed in the strike, including Vice Admiral Viktor Sokolov
the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet
The Russian Ministry of Defense later released a video allegedly showing the admiral alive