Last moments of £170,000,000 Russian warship before it’s sunk by drone after 20-minute battle

Extraordinary footage shows terrified Russian sailors attempting to fend off an attack from Ukrainian sea drones in a doomed last stand.

A GoPro video shows how soldiers onboard the Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov desperately tried to fight off the oncoming drones in an intense 20-minute sea battle, which climaxes with the vessel getting completely destroyed in a fiery explosion.

The warship was sunk on February 14, but footage of the battle has only just been released on Russian pro-war Telegram channel FighterBomber

Hellish, chaotic scenes saw a small group of seamen unloading their weapons into the murky water. Explosions rang out around them as the drones one by one slammed into the ship’s hull and lit up the night sky.

GoPro footage captures Russian sailors attempting to fend off the drone attack (Picture: Fighterbomber/e2w)

No confirmed toll has emerged but reports suggested at least 17 of the Russian crew of up to 87 were lost as the Caesar Kunikov sank.

The footage was meant to glorify the Russian sailors who had lost their lives in the attack- But also highlights how Ukraine’s kamikaze drones have changed the face of naval warfare.

An anonymous crew member- seeking to dispute Russian claims that the sailors had been ‘cowards’ and failed in their duty – said his GoPro footage showed they ‘repelled the attack of [marine drones] with all available forces and means’ in the fierce sea battle.

The source said there were ten drones but Ukraine has only admitted to five.

The footage shows the last moments of the warship Caesar Kunikov before it sinks in a fiery explosion(Picture: Fighterbomber/e2w)

‘The 5th [drone] hit the ship in the stern, so immobilising the ship, after which 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th marine drones struck the ship on the port side in the midships and closer to the stern, with the purpose of capsizing the vessel…..

‌’The 9th marine drone partially entered the hole made by the previous drone and detonated almost inside.’

The crew member said: ‘The ship could no longer be saved – the list was rapidly increasing.’

Russian naval commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov was subsequently dismissed following the sinking of the ship.

The Russian Navy’s large landing ship Caesar Kunikov was sunk on Febreuary 14 (Picture: REUTERS)

Despite their ground-based counteroffensive resulting in limited gains, Kyiv has nevertheless managed to score a number of significant naval victories against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

In addition to the sinking of the Caesar Kunikov, Ukraine also took down the Russian warship ‘Sergei Kotov’ on March 5 and famously sank the flagship Moskva in the early days of the invasion.

Despite having no navy or warships of their own, Ukraine’s adept use of Magura V5 drones have forced Putin’s fleet to retreat from Crimea and have succeeded in breaking the Russian naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

Now warships that once threatened Ukraine on a daily basis have been forced to return to port.

‌The Sergey Kotov is the 15th warship lost by the Russian Navy since the beginning of the war with Ukraine, and the fourth since late December.

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