Russian Destroyer Catches Fire in Barents Sea Due to Malfunction: Kyiv

Russia's large anti-submarine ship Admiral Levchenko is on fire in the Barents Sea, according to the spokesperson of the Ukrainian Navy.

Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces and the Navy, said in a post on Facebook that one of the vessel's engines had malfunctioned and caught fire with several hundred crew members on board.

The vessel was commissioned by Russia in 1988, Ukrainian media reported. Russia has lost a number of its key vessels throughout the war in Ukraine.

"Enemy equipment is on fire. More precisely, the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Levchenko in the Barents Sea. Its struggle for survival continues, hopefully in vain," he wrote.

"This is what happens when a 'superpower' is sanctioned by Ukraine and cannot independently service engines produced in [Ukraine's] Mykolaiv. One of the installations caught fire," Pletenchuk said.

"Your training is going great, guys, don't stop," he added. "Just so you understand, there are several hundred crew there."

Newsweek couldn't independently verify Pletenchuk's claims and has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

Kyiv has targeted Russia's Black Sea Fleet throughout President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of the country, which began in February 2022. Ukraine has vowed to reverse the Russian leader's 2014 annexation of Crimea, which now serves as Moscow's central logistics hub for its forces in southern Ukraine.

As a result, Russia has been forced to relocate many of its warships away from Crimea to its Novorossiysk base in Russia's Krasnodar region.

In April, British Defense Minister Grant Shapps said in a post on X that Russia's Black Sea Fleet has essentially been rendered "functionally inactive." Ukraine's military said that by December 2023, about a third of the fleet had been destroyed.

In one of Kyiv's most recent attacks, Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said its forces successfully attacked and destroyed a Russian "Saturn" tugboat near Crimea using naval kamikaze drones.

"Maritime strike. All hits on target. Minus one more enemy ship," HUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov said during a national broadcast on June 6.

"On June 6, a special unit of the 9th Department of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine off the coast of the temporarily occupied Crimea successfully struck a Russian raid tugboat of the Project 498 Saturn or Protey," the HUR statement said.

"Another ship belonging to the Russian invaders was destroyed," it added. "The destructive fire damage was inflicted after a successful breakthrough of the Russian line of defensive barriers in the Black Sea."

Pletenchuk said on national television on Sunday that Russia had begun patrolling the Black Sea with submarines after Ukraine damaged several dozen Russian ships.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.