Ukraine, the navy confirms: we damaged the Russian patrol ship Pavel Derzhavin

– I cannot provide any information about the circumstances of this incident, but I confirm that such an event actually took place. It’s a Russian ship, although we also had a vessel with the same name before. However, I can point out that it is not a Ukrainian ship (it has now been damaged), said Captain Dmytro Płetenchuk in an interview with the Ukrainian section of Radio Svoboda.

Earlier on Wednesday, reports appeared on social media that there was an explosion on the patrol ship Pavel Derzhavin in the outer roadstead of the port of Sevastopol. The causes of the explosion are unknown. According to reports, the Russian vessel may have been damaged as a result of contact with a sea mine.

This version of events was confirmed, among others, by the representative of the Odessa Oblast authorities, Serhiy Bratchuk.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on the reports regarding the patrol vessel, Radio Svoboda reported.

Pavel Derzhavin was launched in February 2019. A year later, the patrol vessel became part of the coastal protection unit of the base in Novorossiysk.

The two most important bases of the Black Sea Fleet are located in Sevastopol in Crimea and Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai. In June this year, Ukrainian military portals reported that enemy units, fearing for their safety, began to move on a “shuttle” basis between the main bases in the Black Sea.

In September, the Ukrainian side admitted to shelling the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and the shipyard in this city, where two Russian vessels were seriously damaged – the large landing ship Minsk and the submarine Rostov-on-Don.

The greatest loss during the war with Ukraine the Russian Navy suffered already at the beginning of the invasion, in April 2022, when the missile cruiser Moskva was sunk – flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. According to the Kremlin, only one crew member died on the cruiser and 27 were reported missing. The actual number of dead was probably much higher.

In the opinion of independent observers, as well as, among others, Ministry of Defense Lithuaniaeven more than 400 soldiers could have been killed Russia.