Ukrainian Navy spokesman, Captain 3rd Rank Dmytro Pletenchuk confirmed that the Russian Black Sea Fleet ship Pavel Derzhavin was damaged in the Black Sea near occupied Sevastopol the day before. He said this on the live of Radio Liberty.
"You are the first people to whom I am officially confirming today that it was damaged. I can't give you any information about the circumstances of this incident, but it is a fact," Pletenchuk said.
He clarified that the Pavel Derzhavin is a ship of the Russian Navy, although the Ukrainian Navy used to have a ship of the same name.
"They have the same name. As far as I remember, there was such an interesting moment before the war. I can only say that this is not a Ukrainian ship."
Earlier, the media and local telegram channels reported that the Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Pavel Derzhavin had exploded for unknown reasons on the outer roadstead of Sevastopol.
At the time, the head of the press center of the Southern Defence Forces of Ukraine, Nataliya Humenyuk, said that the Armed Forces were clarifying whether this was true, but noted that "anything is possible."
Russian defence ministry did not comment on this information.