Russia said Wednesday it had fended off a Ukrainian attack on one of its warships in Turkish waters with unmanned vessels, the latest attempted sabotage attack Moscow has blamed on Kyiv.

"Today at 5:30 am the armed forces of Ukraine made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the Ivan Khurs ship of the Black Sea Fleet with three unmanned speedboats," the defense ministry said.

It added that the Russian vessel had been tasked with guarding pipeline infrastructure in Turkish waters.