The Times reported on the 4th that the main frigate under repair was sunk by the Ukrainian navy, fearing that the Ukrainian navy would lose it as loot amid observations that a Russian attack on Odessa, Ukraine's largest water port, was imminent.



Defense Minister Olexi Rezhnikov said in a Facebook post, "I have given the command to sink the frigate Hetman Sahaidachini, which is being repaired, by giving the command to sink it." .



Thirty years after her construction, Hetman Sahaidachini was the pride of the Ukrainian Navy as a Krivac-3 type frigate, equipped with a 100 mm deck gun and anti-submarine grenade launcher, torpedo launcher and helicopter.



But she is now half-sinked in the port of My Kolaille, about 130 kilometers from Odessa, the Times reported.



"We are building new ships that are more modern and powerful," Rezhnikov said. "Now the important thing is to stand up. The enemies are confused and frightened," he said.



The Ukrainian Navy purchased an Irish-class patrol boat from the United States and two Sandown-class minecraft from the UK. The contract was to acquire one of them at the end of next year.



Ukraine lost 12 of its 17 main battleships along with the Sevastopol naval base in Crimea due to Russia's forced annexation of Crimea in 2014.



The warships that were not taken away by Russia were amphibious ships, minesweeps, support ships, and auxiliary ships, and the Ukrainian Navy has since built seven patrol boats to reinforce its naval power, The Times reported.



The Russian army is trying to find a breakthrough on the southern coastline after it has been unable to speed up its advance in the northern regions, including the capital Kiiu (Kyiv).



In Ukraine, Kherson, a key southern point facing the Crimean Peninsula, has been captured, and Mariupol on the Azov Sea coast is completely under siege.



(Photo=Provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense, Yonhap News)