The Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov was sunk off the coast of Occupied Crimea after coming under attack by a swarm of Ukrainian unmanned surface vessels. The sinking, confirmed by Ukrainian and Russian sources, is the third successful USV attack on Russian military vessels in or near Crimea in as many months and the eighth sinking of a major Russian ship since the war began nearly two years ago.

The Caesar Kunikov was a Project 775 Ropucha-class landing ship tank (LST) capable of carrying up to ten main battle tanks and 340 troops. While designed for amphibious assaults, the six Ropuchas and three 1960s vintage Tapir-class LSTs in the Black Sea fleet were idle early in the war, and since the attacks damaging the Kerch Strait bridge have been pressed into service to ferry ammunition and equipment from Russia to ports in Occupied Crimea. The change of mission has resulted in the LSTs being frequently targeted by the Ukrainian armed forces; three Ropuchas and one Tapir have been sunk.

The Kunikov was attacked by several Magura V5 USVs.The Magura V5 entered service in July 2023. It has a range of about 250 miles and carries a 440-pound warhead. It cruises at 21mph, but it runs at about 48mph during attacks. This is the second documented use of the Magura V5 in combat operations.

BACKGROUND:

Ukrainian Attack on Russian Fleet Leaves One Ship and One Sub Destroyed With No Nuclear War 

BREAKING: Russian Navy Ship Heavily Damaged by Ukrainian Drone Strike 

Massive Fireball Marks the End of A Russian Ship After Ukrainian Missile Attack 

The Kunikov was intercepted close offshore of the coastal city of Alupka, some 50 sea miles east of Sevastopol.

With such a close range to the shore, and next to touristic town of Alupka, "Tsezar Kunikov" wreck will be another jewel for Crimean wreck divers tourism branch. pic.twitter.com/5bkY3ZtzoQ

— Sergej Sumlenny, LL.M (@sumlenny) February 14, 2024

This is video from the attack.

One of the great David and Goliath military sagas in history continues as Ukraine dismantles Russia's Black Sea Fleet piece by piece.

More incredible footage from this morning's sinking of Russian warship "Cesar Kunikov" with homegrown marine drones. pic.twitter.com/96ejTnhsvk

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) February 14, 2024

Here, you can see two closely placed detonations at 0:01 and a third detonation followed by a massive secondary explosion at 0:13. The secondary explosion indicates the Kunikov's cargo included missiles and/or artillery ammunition.

More videos are emerging regarding the Caesar Kunikov. Two explosions can be seen here, though the second one is far more powerful and indicates that it was ammunition. Unlikely that many on the ship survived this secondary explosion.

Source: https://t.co/rkL0OCsBdh#Ukraine… pic.twitter.com/2bIY6nHGWS

— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) February 14, 2024

According to reports, the Kunikov capsized and sank. The fate of the crew is unknown.

In my view, there are several takeaways from this attack.

First, the Kunikov was intercepted. This shows that Ukrainian intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition systems provide excellent visibility into Russian operations in Occupied Crimea. 

Second, the attack occurred at the extreme operating range of the USVs. They may have convoyed together from Ukraine to the point of interception, but a more logical explanation is that a Ukrainian USV "mother ship" is in operation in the Black Sea.

Third, Crimea, in general, and Sevastopol, in particular, have been rendered militarily untenable to the Russian Navy.

Fourth, the proven vulnerability of the Ropuchas to attack will massively complicate Russia's logistics effort to supply their armed forces operating in the occupied territory in Crimea, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.