MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, the ministry said that the Liman received a hull breach in the sea 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Bosphorus Strait.
"All crew members of the Liman research vessel of the Black Sea Fleet are alive and well, and are presently preparing for evacuation from a Turkish rescue vessel … The Liman vessel has sunk due to the hull breach," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry denied the media reports claiming that some crew members were missing.
A Russian Ulus Star vessel is en route to the scene to deliver the crew to a Black Sea Fleet base.
Turkey's Coast Guard told Sputnik that all 78 crew members have been rescued.
