The Russian submarine Kursk was the target of a submarine attack earlier this week.
According to local media, the attack killed seven crewmembers and wounded three others.
Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported that the Kursks commander was killed in the attack, as well as its other three crew members.
The Kursky, an old, Russian-made diesel-electric submarine, was built in the 1990s.
A submarine attack on an old Russian vessel is a common practice in the country.
According for example to the Russian Defense Ministry, there have been several incidents in the past of Russian submarines attacking German submarines.
“The German submarine K-130, which was in the region of the Baltic Sea, was attacked with an underwater missile.
There was no contact with the German vessel, which later sank.
According the Defense Ministry statement, the submarine lost all its equipment including the radio system and its propulsion system.
The attack destroyed two torpedo tubes, one engine and four torpedoes,” TASS said.
German media reported that all four crew members were rescued.
The ship was heading toward the German port of Kassel when the attack occurred.
A German military source told Deutsche Welle the submarine attacked was the K-140, an older Russian diesel-powered sub.
The older K-138 was the Russian submarine’s predecessor.
The newer K-142 was built between 2005 and 2010.
Russia has suffered several attacks on Russian submarines since the beginning of the year.
On May 27, two Russian nuclear submarines were reportedly intercepted off the coast of the Black Sea.
According a German military official, the two Russian vessels were detected by a German F-16 fighter plane near the city of Dnipropetrovsk, which is located about 140 kilometers (85 miles) north of the Russian city of St. Petersburg.
The Russian Navy reported the two nuclear submarines detected in the Black Ocean and escorted them to the port of Kamchatka.
The Russians did not give any information about what the boats were carrying or their location.
Earlier this month, a Russian submarine sank and several crewmembers were killed off the French coast.