Ukraine conducts joint operation with Russian anti-Putin group to set fire to warship

A fire on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea earlier in the year was caused by a joint sabotage operation conducted with a pro-Kyiv Russian military group, Ukraine's military spy agency has said.

The Serpukhov small attack missile ship, which was stationed in Russia's Kaliningrad region, was targeted in April.

GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov said the agency carried out  the operation in tandem with the Freedom of Russia Legion - and a member of the crew.

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Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has made no public comment on the incident.

Ukraine regularly carries out multiple air and naval strikes on Russian warships in the Black Sea.

But if the reported damage to the Serpukhov is confirmed, the arson would be Ukraine's first known operation against Russia in the Baltic Sea.

The Freedom of Russia Legion said the arson attack had been prepared and carried out together with certain servicemen within Russia's Baltic Sea fleet with whom it had been communicating since 2023.

Posting on its Telegram account, the Legion said: "As a result of the sabotage, [we] managed to ruin the ship from inside and completely destroy communication and its means of automation."

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, a former Russian navy serviceman, who goes by the call sign of Goga, said he managed to collect classified documents from the Serpukhov before escaping, according to the RBC-Ukraine media outlet.

"I took prepared classified documents and left the ship, leaving the territory of [Russia] as well," he was quoted as saying.