FIRST KILL - Harpoon Missiles Sink Russian Navy Vessel; US Military Analyst Calls It A 'Big Deal'...

On June 17, Ukraine’s Navy claimed a significant victory after hitting another Russian ship near the infamous Snake Island, an outpost seized by the Russian Navy early in the war.

The Ukrainian Navy released a video of the devastating attack on the Russian rescue tug Spasatel Vatsily Bekh. The video shows two missiles striking a vessel nearly 19 miles east of Snake (or Zmiinyi) Island.

The tug boat was said to be delivering weapons and soldiers from the Black Sea Fleet to Snake Island. Ukrainian officials claim that the Russian rescue vessel, Spasatel Vatsily Bekh, was struck by two Harpoon missiles, making this the weapon’s first effective combat use by Ukrainian forces.

Apparently, a Bayraktar TB2 drone recorded the footage and was used to transmit the coordinates of the Russian ship.

According to a Ukrainian regional official, land-based Harpoon anti-ship systems recently given to Ukraine by the US and Denmark carried out the strike. It appears to be in line with the video’s sea-skimming cruise missiles.