Heartstopping moment Ukraine’s ‘Group 13’ drones sink Russian warship ‘Caesar’ in ‘Valentine’s Day gift for Putin’

DRAMATIC footage shows the moment a squad of Ukrainian special officers blasted one of Vladimir Putin's prized warships - killing all on board.

Ukraine claims to have sunk the 369ft Caesar Kunikov landing after blitzing it with drones this morning off the southern coast of annexed Crimea.

It is the 15th Russian warship to either be sunk or destroyed by Ukraine.

Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency has released footage of the latest daring strike - spearheaded by Group 13 special forces.

It shows the landing ship's silhouette before it is blasted with an enormous explosion.

A clip from another sea drone then appears to show the mighty ship turned on its side in the Black Sea.

Ukraine's military said it attacked the ship with naval drones called “Magura V5” - leaving it full of holes.

According to a Ukrainian intelligence source, an initial assessment revealed there were no survivors.

The ship's full crew is 87 - though it has not been confirmed how many were on board.

A HUR military intelligence source said the ship initially tilted on its side, and then sank. 

They told : "Apparently, no one escaped because the hole was big and everything happened very quickly."

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the sinking.

The huge vessel - one of Russia's newest - was used by Putin’s armed forces to transport missiles and drones for attacks on Ukraine.

Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency said: "Magura has impoverished Caesar - the spies sank the great landing ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

"The “Caesar Kunikov” bag lost critical holes on the port side and began to sink.

"It is symbolic that the Russian officer, after whom the ship was named, was killed exactly 81 years ago."

The ship is named after Soviet officer Caesar Kunikov, who died exactly 81 years ago - on 14 February 1943.

He served as commanding officer of a landing party that recaptured the beachhead at Malaya Zemlya during World War II.

He was killed in the battle and was posthumously named a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Residents of annexed Crimea said they heard an initial explosion at 11.03am local time on Tuesday.

This was followed by subsequent explosions possibly as ammunition on board the ship exploded. 

Russia attempted to stage a major sea rescue operation involving boats and a submarine.

Two Russian Mi-8 helicopters were seen flying to and from the scene in desperation.

Crimean Wind Telegram channel - a Ukrainian source - reported: "The Main Intelligence Directorate decided to congratulate the occupiers on Valentine's Day in their own way."

The Caesar Kunikov sustained damage earlier in the war, and its then captain Alexander Chirva died from wounds in 2022. 

An American Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk reconnaissance drone was flying south of the incident doing repeated loops over the Black Sea, according to flight tracking portal Flightradar.

It was between 62 and 75 miles south of the incident, before apparently returning to its base in Malta.

Ukrainian sources said there were no sounds of missiles or drones.

The war-torn country has previously used kamikaze marine drones to attack Russian warships. 

Two weeks ago, Ukraine destroyed the £55 million Black Sea missile ship Ivanovets.

Multiple drones hit the 184ft warship off annexed Crimea. 

The list of sunk ships includes the Moskva cruiser, Putin’s Black Sea Fleet flagship, which was struck by Neptune missiles in April 2022. 

Putin has still not given an accurate toll for the losses on the sunken Moskva. 

Several large landing ships have been sunk, including most recently the Novocherkassk, which was struck on December 26, 2023.

At least 33 sailors were feared dead.