Ukrainian sea drones hit and damaged a large Russian landing ship off occupied Crimea, Ukrainska Pravda, a major Ukrainian media outlet, reported on Wednesday.

The news outlet published several videos showing a column of smoke over the sea off the southern coast of Crimea, as well as helicopters flying over the sea.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said the targeted ship was the Tsezar Kunikov, which took part in Russian military operations in Georgia in 2008.

Reuters could not independently verify the account or the footage, and Ukrainian military intelligence was unavailable for comment. Honcharenko and Ukrainska Pravda did not say when the reported attack took place.

Russian state agency RIA said earlier on Wednesday Russia's air defence systems destroyed nine Ukraine-launched drones over Russia's Belgorod and Voronezh regions, as well as over the Black Sea.

Six drones were destroyed over the Black Sea, RIA quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying.

In December, Ukrainian cruise missiles struck a large Russian landing warship in Crimea that killed at least one person. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Michael Perry and Andrew Heavens)