Russian ship Izumrud, involved in 2018 attack on Ukrainian boats in Kerch Strait, destroyed near Novorossiysk
Ukraine's military destroyed the FSB border patrol ship Izumrud, a second-rank vessel that took part in Russia's 2018 attack on Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait, Ukraine's Navy reported.
The Russian vessel was destroyed near Novorossiysk using the Sargan-3000 unmanned surface vessel. There were fatalities and injuries among the ship's crew.
"Retribution is inevitable. More to come..." the Navy said.
The 2018 Kerch Strait incident
On November 25, 2018, Ukrainian naval vessels and a roadstead tugboat were carrying out a planned transit from the port of Odesa to the port of Mariupol. During that mission, a Russian vessel rammed and damaged the Ukrainian tugboat. As the Ukrainian ships attempted to exit the Kerch Strait, Russian vessels opened fire on and seized them. In total, 24 Ukrainian servicemembers were aboard the three vessels, including two members of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU). Three of them were wounded.
Russia claimed at the time that the Ukrainian ships had violated Russian territorial waters by entering a closed maritime zone, and that Ukraine had failed to submit a request to transit the Kerch Strait.
The Ukrainian servicemembers were accused of illegally crossing Russia’s border in the Black Sea. On November 29, they were transferred to a pre-trial detention facility in Moscow. They were ultimately released and returned to Ukraine as part of a large-scale prisoner exchange in September 2019.
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