Ukraine says it has sunk a $300 million Russian submarine, in a new blow to Putin’s Black Sea Fleet

• Ukraine says it has sunk a submarine from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.

• The Kilo-class submarine Rostov-on-Don was hit in Sevastopol, the Ukrainian military reported.

• Ukraine has been continuously attacking the Russian Black Sea Fleet since the beginning of the war.

Ukraine says it hit and sank a Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine and damaged several valuable S-400 air defense systems in Crimea.

In a rack The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on Telegram that the Kilo-class submarine Rostov-on-Don was hit in the port of Sevastopol.

“The boat sank on the spot,” the General Staff said.

“The destruction of Rostov-on-Don proves once again that there is no safe place for the Russian fleet in Ukrainian territorial waters of the Black Sea,” the report said.

Business Insider was unable to independently verify the claim. The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet commented.

The Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, posted on Telegram on Sunday morning, but did not refer to the Ukrainian announcement.

“All is quiet in the city,” he wrote, while also warning of an upcoming exercise.

The Ukrainian military said the B-237 Rostov-on-Don “is one of four Kilo-class submarines capable of firing ‘Kalibr’ missiles.”

It is not the first time that the submarine, which Ukraine says cost Russia $300 million, has been targeted in the conflict.

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in September that the submarine had suffered “probably catastrophic damage” after a missile attack on a shipyard in Sevastopol.

“It will likely take many years to return the submarine to service and cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” the Defense Department said at the time.

Although Ukraine does not have its own traditional navy, the country has achieved great success in fighting the Black Sea Fleet.

Many ships of the fleet had to move from the naval base in Sevastopol to the east, to Novorossiysk. In addition, the fleet lost a number of important warships, including the flagship, the Moskva.

According to the General Staff, Ukrainian forces not only hit the submarine but also seriously damaged four S-400 surface-to-air missile launchers.

Frederik Mertens, former strategic analyst at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, previously told BI that aimed at Crimea and defense systems such as the S-400Ukraine was likely “preparing” for the deployment of F-16 fighter jets, which arrived in Ukraine earlier this week.

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