Ukrainian sabotage damages Russian ship in Baltic Sea, Kyiv says

Audio By Carbonatix

(Reuters) – A Ukrainian sabotage operation has damaged a Russian minesweeping vessel in Russia’s Kaliningrad region and put it out of action, Ukraine’s military spy agency said on Monday.

The spy agency, known by the acronym GUR, said it was the second attack it has carried out on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea this year.

The agency did not say how it had conducted the latest operation, but said water had entered engine of the Alexander Obukhov Alexandrit-class minesweeper through “a mysterious hole” in a gas pipe.

“The ship, which was based in the city of Baltiysk and was supposed to go on combat duty, was seriously damaged,” it wrote on the Telegram messenger.

There was no immediate comment from Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Its Kaliningrad exclave lies more than 300 km (186 miles) northwest of Ukraine.

The GUR statement said the vessel was undergoing major repairs after the incident.

The spy agency published what it said was a video clip shot on Oct. 3 showing the vessel’s engine needing repairs after water got in. The second part of the clip was purportedly shot on Sept. 29 and showed the tiny hole.

Reuters could not immediately verify the video or GUR’s assertions.

The GUR and a pro-Kyiv Russian military group claimed responsibility earlier this year for an arson attack on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea in April.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Timothy Heritage)