Ukrainian Military Says It Sank a Russian Landing Ship in the Black Sea

FILE PHOTO: The Russian Navy's large landing ship Caesar Kunikov sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Russian Navy's large landing ship Caesar Kunikov sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo
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Ukrainian Military Says It Sank a Russian Landing Ship in the Black Sea

FILE PHOTO: The Russian Navy's large landing ship Caesar Kunikov sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Russian Navy's large landing ship Caesar Kunikov sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo

Ukraine's military said Wednesday it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea using naval drones, a report that has not been confirmed by Russian forces.
The Caesar Kunikov amphibious ship sank near Alupka, a city on the southern edge of the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014, Ukraine’s General Staff said. It said the ship can carry 87 crew members, The Associated Press said.
Sinking the vessel would be another embarrassing blow for the Russian Black Sea fleet and a significant success for Ukraine 10 days before the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Ukraine has moved onto the defensive in the war, hindered by low ammunition supplies and a shortage of personnel, but has kept up its strikes behind the largely static 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line.
It is the second time in two weeks that Ukrainian forces have said they sank a Russian vessel in the Black Sea. Last week, they published a video that they said showed naval drones assaulting the Russian missile-armed corvette Ivanovets.
Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, known by its Ukrainian acronym GUR, said its special operations unit "Group 13” sank the Caesar Kunikov using Magura V5 sea drones on Wednesday, damaging the vessel on its left side. The same unit also struck on Feb. 1, according to officials.
Ukrainian attacks on Russian aircraft and ships in the Black Sea have helped push Moscow’s naval forces back from the coast, allowing Kyiv to increase crucial exports of grain and other goods through its southern ports.
A new generation of unmanned weapons systems has become a centerpiece of the war, both at sea and on land.
The Magura V5 drone, which looks like a sleek black speedboat, was unveiled last year. It reportedly has a top speed of 42 knots (80 kph, 50 mph) and a payload of 320 kilograms (700 pounds).
The Russian military did not immediately comment on the claimed sinking, saying only that it downed six Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea overnight.
Caesar Kunikov, for whom the Russian vessel was named, was a World War II hero of the Soviet Union for his exploits and died on Feb. 14, the same day as the Ukrainian drone strike, in 1943.



Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Says Iran Must Give Up Dream of Nuclear Weapon or Face Harsh Response

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025. (AFP)

President Donald Trump said on Monday he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran's atomic facilities.

"I think they're tapping us along," Trump told reporters after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Oman on Saturday with a senior Iranian official.

Both Iran and the United States said on Saturday that they held "positive" and "constructive" talks in Oman. A second round is scheduled for Saturday, and a source briefed on the planning said the meeting was likely to be held in Rome.

The source, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said the discussions are aimed at exploring what is possible, including a broad framework of what a potential deal would look like.

"Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Asked if US options for a response include a military strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, Trump said: "Of course it does."

Trump said the Iranians need to move fast to avoid a harsh response because "they're fairly close" to developing a nuclear weapon.

The US and Iran held indirect talks during former President Joe Biden's term, but they made little, if any progress. The last known direct negotiations between the two governments were under then-President Barack Obama, who spearheaded the 2015 international nuclear deal that Trump later abandoned.