Ukraine Destroyed its Own Command Ship, 'Donbas' Claims Russia

Ukrainian forces destroyed its own warship, ‘Donbas’ during retreat from Mariupol, Russia has claimed.

"In order not to get the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the enemy decided to undermine it and flood it. The equipment was removed from here, what they did not have time to remove was destroyed, respectively, the documents too," a serviceman of the RF Armed Forces was quoted as saying by government-owned Zvezda.

The warship, serving as a command post for the Ukrainian Navy was partly sunk after being hit during the seize of Mariupol in April.  Satellite images published on 6 April 2022 show the Donbas being engulfed in heavy smoke in the port of Mariupol, indicating the ship was likely hit. Ten days later, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry confirmed the ship was destroyed during the Siege of Mariupol, according to Wikipedia.