The Russian auxiliary ship 'Kommuna' caught fire on April 21 in the port of temporarily occupied Sevastopol due to actions by the Ukrainian Navy.
"This occurred with the direct involvement of the Ukrainian Navy. The extent of the damage to the ship is being clarified, but according to preliminary information, the vessel is no longer ready to perform its tasks," said Captain 3rd Rank Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy.
Spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, stated that similar incidents at infrastructure facilities of Russian forces in occupied Crimea will be repeated.
Since August 2022, explosions have regularly been reported in Crimea. In the case of Ukrainian missile and drone attacks, the Russian occupation administration usually claims that the explosions are supposedly the result of air defense work or the effective destruction of approaching drones.
The 'Kommuna' (formerly 'Volkhov') is a unique rescue vessel launched on November 30, 1913, serving as a 'submarine rescuer.' It is equipped with the underwater robot Seaeye Panther Plus and a hydroacoustic station for underwater communication called 'Kama,' allowing it to operate at depth and recover sunken cargoes.
OSINT reconnaissance revealed satellite images showing damage to the 'Kommuna' in Sevastopol.
The Ukrainian side increasingly acknowledges these operations. For example, it confirmed that representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine were involved in attacks on the bridge to Crimea in October 2022 and July 2023. Last September, the authorities in Kyiv also acknowledged, among other things, the shelling of the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and a shipbuilding plant in the city.
