The Kyiv Independent has not been able to verify these claims.
Pletenchuk attributed the fire to Ukraine's sanctions, which have prevented the Russian Navy from servicing engines manufactured in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Many of Russia's Soviet-era naval ships were originally built and serviced in Mykolaiv.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, most of the incidents involving Russian ships catching fire have occurred in the Black Sea, often as a result of Ukrainian naval drones or missile strikes. By December 2023, the Ukrainian military estimated that around 30% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet had been destroyed.
One notable incident involved the crippling of the Rostov-on-Don, one of Russia's four missile-capable submarines, in occupied Sevastopol in September 2023. More recently, on May 30, Ukrainian Magura V5 naval drones targeted four Russian KS-701 Tunets (Tuna) model patrol boats in Crimea, reportedly destroying two and damaging two others, according to Ukraine's military intelligence.
