29 September 2016, 05:37 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The ministry said Vice-Admiral Kulakov received a distress signal at 05:20 GMT from a fishing vessel registered at the port of Mariupol with seven Ukrainian citizens on board, two of them injured.
The destroyer, part of the naval task force stationed in the Mediterranean, approached the ship and embarked on its rescue mission at 06:45, the Russian ministry said.
The Ukrainian fishing vessel lost way on November 21 and was adrift for two days, the defense ministry added, noting that the rescue operation was hampered by severe weather.
