Insane moment Ukraine blows up £298m Russian submarine in huge humiliation to Putin

The dramatic moment a Russian submarine worth nearly £300million is blown to pieces has been caught on camera. Using their Sea Baby drones, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Navy conducted a special naval operation in the port of Novorossiysk.

Dramatic footage shows a colossal blast sending chunks of debris raining down on surrounding ships. The Russian submarine was believed to be carrying four Kalibr missile launchers used to level Ukrainian buildings and bases. If confirmed, it would be the first successful underwater marine drone strike in history.

The drones inflicted severe damage that look likely to have rendered the vessel inoperable. Novorossiysk is home to one of the largest ports on the Black Sea and is Russia's second-largest oil export centre.

It is currently unknown whether any casualties occurred. The Sea Baby naval drones were earlier used to push Russian military ships out of Sevastopol Bay in temporarily occupied Crimea.

This 243-foot diesel-electric submarine type is known to NATO as the "Black Hole" due to its sound-absorbing hull, which makes it difficult to detect by sonar.

This comes just hours after a top European leader warned that although Ukraine and Russia are "closer to peace", Putin remains a dire danger to the West.

Finland's influential president Alexander Stubb - seen as close to Donald Trump - said: "I think we are at a critical moment in negotiations for peace, and at the same time, we are probably closer to a peace agreement than we have been any time during these four years."

Last week, a Russian submarine was intercepted by the Royal Navy in a three-day operation through storm-hit weather in the English Channel.

Marchwood-based support ship RFA Tidesurge, with a Merlin helicopter on board, was deployed to keep watch on the Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar and accompanying tug boat Altay.