Ukraine says Russian warship in Baltic Sea out of service after fire
KIEV, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The Russian missile ship Serpukhov stationed in the Baltic Sea has been rendered out of service by fire, the Focus.ua media outlet reported Tuesday, citing a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence.
The vessel, though still afloat, would need "quite a long time" to be repaired, as its modern equipment was damaged, said Andriy Yusov, the spokesman.
The ship's communication and automation equipment was "completely destroyed," according to the government-run Ukrinform news agency.
Yusov added that Ukraine believed Russia was considering transferring the ship to the Black Sea.
"The ignition and the fire, I would say, was not accidental," Yusov said, without disclosing whether Ukraine was responsible for the blaze.
Separately, Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne, as well as newspapers Kyiv Post and The Kyiv Independent, citing sources from military intelligence, said that Ukraine's military intelligence was behind the fire.
There was no immediate response from Russia.
On Monday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate said that a fire had erupted on Sunday at the Russian ship Serpukhov stationed in a naval base in the city of Baltiysk in Russia's Kaliningrad enclave region by the Baltic Sea.
（Editor:Fu Bo）