Russia has said that it has destroyed three Ukrainian unmanned speedboats that were attempting to launch an attack on its Ivan Khurs Navy vessel.
The footage purports to show one of the Ukrainian unmanned speedboats being hit by Russian ordnance while attempting to approach the vessel.
It appears to have been laden with explosives as it detonates in a huge explosion after being hit.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Wednesday, 24th May, along with a statement claiming: “Today at 5:30 a.m., the armed forces of Ukraine made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the Ivan Khurs ship of the Black Sea Fleet with three unmanned speedboats, which is performing tasks to ensure the safety of the functioning of the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines in the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Turkey.
The Russian MoD added: “All enemy boats were destroyed by fire from the standard armament of a Russian ship 140 kilometres northeast of the Bosphorus.”
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
The Ivan Khurs is a Yuriy Ivanov-class vessel, a new type of intelligence collection ship. The Ivan Khurs was launched in 2017. It is one of two such vessels in the Russian Navy, the other being the Yuriy Ivanov, which was launched in 2013.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 456th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 25th May 2023, Russia had lost about 205,260 personnel, 3,795 tanks, 7,432 armoured combat vehicles, 3,359 artillery units, 570 multiple launch rocket systems, 327 air defence systems, 309 warplanes, 296 helicopters, 2,907 drones, 1,015 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 6,148 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 444 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
White House spokesperson John Kirby has said that the US is looking into reports that American military vehicles were used inside Russia.
The Kremlin has said that the alleged use of American-made equipment by self-styled Russian partisans who conducted a raid on the Russian border region of Belgorod this week is proof of the West’s growing involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian military claimed on Tuesday that it had routed militants who attacked the Belgorod region with armoured vehicles and killed over 70 “Ukrainian nationalists”.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Iran to reconsider supplying kamikaze drones to Russia.
Addressing Iran, Zelensky said: “The simple question is this: what is your interest in being an accomplice to Russian terror?”
He added: “What is the benefit to Iran of such cynical killing?”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that Ukraine will not be able to join NATO while the war is going on.
Stoltenberg said: “I think that everyone realised that, to become a member in the midst of a war, is not on the agenda.”
He added: “The issue is what happens when the war ends.”
The head of the notorious Russian mercenary organisation Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has said that he has lost 20,000 fighters so far in the battle for Bakhmut.
This figure is in stark contrast to Moscow’s claims that it has lost just over 6,000 soldiers in the war.
The Dutch Minister of Defence, Kajsa Ollongren, has said that her country wants to provide Ukrainian pilots with F-16 fighter jet training as soon as possible.
Ollongren added that the training programme would be the result of coordinated work between Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, with other countries also able to join.
Ukraine’s main Orthodox Church has said that it has decided to change the date it celebrates Christmas to 25th December in a move that is seen as a bid to distance itself from Russia.
Orthodox Christians typically celebrate Christmas on 7th January.
