The Russian Defence Ministry claims to have sunk a Georgian warship which was attacking its navy ships in the Black Sea, according to Russian new agencies. If confirmed, the incident could mark a serious escalation of the fighting that has raged between Georgia and Russia in the breakaway region of South Ossetia. The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted a ministry spokesman as saying that Georgian missile patrol boats twice tried to attack Russian ships, which fired back and sank one of the Georgian vessels.