Ukraine says it sank a $300 million Russian submarine in what would be another blow to Putin’s Black Sea Fleet.

• Ukraine claims to have sunk a Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine off Crimea.

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

• Ukraine has relentlessly targeted the Russian Black Sea Fleet since the start of the war.

Ukraine claims to have struck and sunk a Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine and damaged several S-400 air defense systems in Crimea.

On a declaration on Telegram, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the Kilo-class submarine Rostov-on-Don was hit in the port of Sevastopol.

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

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

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 made no reference to Ukraine’s announcement.

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

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

It is not the first time that that submarine, which Ukraine claims cost Russia 300 million dollars, has been the target of conflict.

O UK Ministry of Defense The Defense Ministry said in September that the submarine “probably suffered catastrophic damage” after a missile attack on a shipyard in Sevastopol.

“Any effort to return the submarine to service is likely to take many years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” the Defense Ministry said at the time.

Despite not having a traditional navy of its own, Ukraine has had enormous success in combating the Black Sea Fleet.

Many of the fleet’s ships were forced to move east from the Sevastopol naval base to Novorossiysk, and it also lost several important warships, including its flagship, the Moskva.

In addition to attacking the submarine, the General Staff said Ukrainian forces also seriously damaged four S-400 anti-aircraft missile launchers.

Frederik Mertens, a former strategic analyst at the Center for Strategic Studies in The Hague, previously told BI that the targeting Crimea and defense systems like the S-400Ukraine was likely “preparing the ground” for the use of F-16 fighter jets, which arrived in Ukraine earlier this week.

Read the original article at Business Insider