According to an official statement released by the Ukrainian General Staff via their Facebook page, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in collaboration with units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, successfully neutralised the large landing ship belonging to the occupying Russian forces, “Caesar Kunikov,” while it was in the territorial waters of Ukraine near Alupka.

The vessel, identified as a amphibious assault ship of Project 775, reportedly had armaments including 2×2 57-mm AK-725 artillery mounts, 4×8 SAM launchers, and 2×30 122-mm A-215 “Grad-M” MLRS.

It was crewed by 87 personnel and was capable of various deployment scenarios, such as transporting up to 150 personnel with 10 T-55 tanks, or 12 PT-76 floating tanks with a crew of 36 each, among other configurations.

Furthermore, the ship was equipped for laying minefields and had a cargo capacity of 650 tons over a distance of 4700 miles. The vessel’s namesake, Caesar Lvovich Kunikov, a Soviet officer and commander of a landing party, died on February 14th, 1943, and was buried in Gelendzhik, where it is reported that the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has a bunker.

This recent incident follows the vessel’s previous encounter in March 2022 when Ukrainian forces reportedly damaged the “Saratov”, another amphibious assault ship, in the port of Berdyansk during the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The destruction of the “Caesar Kunikov” was carried out using maritime drones named “Magura V5,” as revealed by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.

The operation was executed in collaboration with all components of Ukraine’s security and defense forces, with special forces from the MOU’s “Group 13” playing a pivotal role.

The successful mission, made possible with the support of the United24 platform, resulted in critical breaches on the port side of the vessel, leading to its sinking.

The symbolism of the vessel’s namesake meeting his fate exactly 81 years prior was not lost, further underscoring the significance of the operation.

Despite subsequent search and rescue efforts by the Russian occupying forces, the vessel could not be salvaged.

The “Caesar Kunikov,” a formidable asset in the Russian Navy’s arsenal, had been utilised in various conflicts including those in Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine.

Its destruction marks a significant blow to Russian military capabilities in the region and underscores Ukraine’s commitment to defending its territorial integrity.

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