New photos show how heavily Russia damaged a Ukrainian boat, an attack that triggered the Black Sea crisis

Daniel BrownNov 29, 2018, 00:52 IST

Small armoured artillery ship Berdyansk is seen in Odessa, Ukraine June 2, 2016. Picture taken June 2, 2016.Reuters

Photos emerged on Tuesday of one of the Ukrainian artillery boats that was heavily damaged after the Russian military fired upon it on Sunday off the coast of Crimea.

The Russian navy fired on two Ukrainian naval vessels and rammed a third in the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov and Black Sea. It then captured the three vessels and the 23 sailors on board, six of whom were wounded in the incident.

The three Ukrainian vessels tried to pass through the strait and had given notice to the Russians, according to The Associated Press. Russian officials said the Ukrainian sailors were given warning to turn back before a Russian ship or aircraft opened fire, according to the Russian-government funded RT.

While the exact sequence is unclear, the damage the Russian weapon or weapons left is heavy.

Ukraine has since declared martial law in 10 of the country's regions, and a Russian court has also ordered 12 of the 23 captured sailors to be held in custody for two months.

The captured Ukrainian naval vessels were two Gurza-M class artillery boats, the Nikopol and Berdiansk, and one tugboat, the Yani Kapu.

The photos released showed the heavy damages to the Berdyansk (or Berdiansk), one of the damaged Ukrainian artillery boats.

Here's what it looks like.

See New photos show how heavily Russia damaged a Ukrainian boat, an attack that triggered the Black Sea crisis >>

A Russian weapon blew a window-sized hole in the artillery boat's pilothouse, where crewmembers steer the boat. It appears to have been hit by a 30mm gun from a Russian warship or a weapon fired from a Su-30 Russian fighter jet.

Russia deployed four warships, as well as Ka-52 combat helicopters and Su-30 fighter jets during the incident.

“According to the confirmed SBU operative information, one of the Russian strike aircraft used two unmanned combat missiles against the Ukrainian boats, heavily wounding one of the SBU officers,” Vasyl Hrytsak, the head of Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said in a statement.

Hrystak did not specify if the above damage to the Berdyansk was from the Su-30.

Source: Defence Blog, Stars and Stripes

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New photos show how heavily Russia damaged a Ukrainian boat, an attack that triggered the Black Sea crisis

A Russian weapon blew a window-sized hole in the artillery boat's pilothouse, where crewmembers steer the boat. It appears to have been hit by a 30mm gun from a Russian warship or a weapon fired from a Su-30 Russian fighter jet.

Here's another damaged section closer to the stern of the Berdyansk.

And here's a close-up.