Ukraine and Russian armed group acknowledge Arson attack on Moscow warship in Baltic

• The operation was carried out in collaboration with the Freedom of Russia Legion.
• The Freedom of Russia Legion claimed to have sabotaged the ship from inside and destroyed communication and automation.
• A former Russian navy serviceman, known as Goga, claimed to have collected classified documents from Serpukhov before escaping.

On Wednesday, a Ukrainian military intelligence official stated that a fire on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea in April was caused by a joint operation conducted by his GUR agency and a pro-Kyiv Russian military group.

The GUR intelligence agency announced on April 7 that the Serpukhov missile ship stationed in Russia’s Kaliningrad region had been set on fire. It did not claim responsibility earlier.

Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for GUR, informed Reuters that the operation was carried out in collaboration with the Freedom of Russia Legion. Russia, which initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has not publicly commented on the incident.

Ukraine frequently conducts multiple air and naval strikes on Russian warships in the Black Sea. If the reported damage to the Serpukhov is confirmed, it would mark Ukraine’s first documented operation against Russia in the Baltic Sea.

The Freedom of Russia Legion stated that it prepared and executed the arson attack in collaboration with certain servicemen within Russia’s Baltic Sea fleet, with whom it had been in communication since 2023.

“As a result of the sabotage, (we) managed to ruin the ship from inside and destroy communication and its means of automation,” the legion said on its Telegram account.

According to the RBC-Ukraine media outlet, speaking to reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday, a former Russian navy serviceman, known by the call sign Goga, stated that he managed to collect classified documents from the Serpukhov before escaping.

“I took prepared classified documents and left the ship, leaving the territory of (Russia) as well,” he was quoted by RBC-Ukraine as saying.

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