The Russian navy says it's sunk a Georgian naval vessel in the Black Sea just off the Abkhazian coast.

According to the Defence Ministry, four Georgian missile boats made two attempts to attack Russian warships.

After their vessels were attacked, the Russian navy fired warning shots before hitting and sinking one of the boats.

Russian warships are continuing to patrol the coastline of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia to support Russian peacekeepers.

Ukraine may bar Russia from Black Sea

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has announced that Russian ships returning from the Georgian shore may be refused permission to enter its territorial waters in the Black Sea.

The ministry says Ukraine doesn’t want to be involved in the conflict between Russia and Georgia. It underlines that the move corresponds with international law.

Meanwhile, Moscow remains unconvinced about Ukrainian claims of neutrality.

Referring to the shooting down of a Russian Tu-22 bomber over Georgia, the Defence Ministry says the Georgian military would have needed a C-200 anti-aircraft system to carry out the attack.

According to Russia, the Georgian army did not possess such equipment before the conflict.

Only Russia and Ukraine are armed with C-200 anti-aircraft systems, which is leading Russian defence officials to suspect that Kiev may have sold the equipment to Georgia.