Ukrainian sailors blew up their own flagship to prevent its capture by Russia

• Ukraine sunk its own flagship recently to avoid capture by the Russians as their full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues.

Ukraine sunk its own flagship, the frigate Hetman Sagaidachny, recently to avoid capture by the Russians as their full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues.

"It is difficult to imagine a more tough decision for a brave warrior and the whole team," Ukraine's Defense Minister wrote in a Facebook post. "But we will build a new fleet, modern and powerful. The main thing now is to resist."

An image of the half-sunk ship appeared on social media earlier this week. The frigate was recieving repairs in the port city of Mykolaiv when it was sunk, according to the Kyiv Independent.

The Hetman Sagaidachny was originally intended to be used by the Soviet Border troops, but was launched in 1993 under the Ukrainian flag. The roughly 400-foot-long ship was armed with a 100-mm deck gun and two close in weapons systems.

Ukraine's navy has had a limited role defending its territory from Russia's vastly superior force, which gathered a flotilla in the weeks leading up to the Feb. 24 invasion. Russian warships in the Sea of Azov reportedly sent a beach landing force ashore to contribute to the siege of Mariupol, and there are worries a similar force may be used to assault the major port of Odessa on the Black Sea.

Ukraine is not a NATO member, but the ship has taken part is multiple NATO endeavors, including 2008's "Operation Endeavor" in the Mediterranean sea, meant to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, and 2013's 'Operation Ocean Shield," an anti-piracy campaign off the horn of Africa.