The Ukrainian Navy confirmed via social media earlier this week that one of its vessels was lost as a result of hostile action during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces.
The patrol boat Slovyansk suffered significant damage and subsequently sank after it was "attacked from the air," according to a post by the Ukrainian Navy's official Facebook page.
The same post stated that some of the vessel's crew were later rescued. However, an undetermined number of personnel are still missing.
Local media reported that the attack that sank Slovyansk occurred on Thursday, March 3, as the vessel and its crew were conducting patrols to protect Odessa and other Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
Slovyansk is the former US Coast Guard Island-class patrol boat Cushing, which was handed over to Ukraine along with sister vessel Drummond in September 2018.