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KYIV – “Experimental” naval drones have damaged two Russian military ships – the mission carrier Buyan and the patrol boat Pavel Derzhavin – in the past two days, Ukrainian intelligence officials said Friday, as Kiev continued a series of attacks against Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet.
The attacks on the Black Sea Fleet, based in occupied Crimea, have demonstrated Ukraine’s ability to operate in Kremlin-controlled waters, but do not appear to have seriously affected Moscow’s capabilities.
An official from Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) said a joint operation with the Ukrainian Navy damaged the Buyan missile carrier in the port of Sevastopol on Friday. The patrol boat Pavel Derzhavin was hit two days earlier. The Russian submarine Alrosa was attacked on Thursday but was unharmed, the official said.
The official said a new unmanned maritime drone called Sea Baby was used in the attacks. The official did not provide any further information.
“After the first [attack]”Russian minesweepers and divers were unable to detect our ‘know-how,'” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. “[The SBU] warns Muscovites that there is no need to cross Ukrainian waters if they want to preserve at least some remnants of their fleet.”
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On Friday, pro-Moscow military blogger Rybar reported that the Pavel Derzhavin was attacked while leaving Sevastopol in the morning, sustaining damage to its propeller. A tugboat that was supposed to evacuate the boat was also attacked.
“The ships remained afloat, but the extent of the damage is unknown,” Rybar wrote, adding that “the epicenter of the explosion was underwater,” suggesting “the use of fully submersible unmanned attack boats.”
The Black Sea Fleet is based in Sevastopol on the southern tip of Crimea, which was occupied and illegally annexed by Russian forces in 2014. Moscow used Crimea as a springboard for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and as a key hub for supplies and reinforcements.
The Russian military has launched waves of deadly missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure from its sea-based missile carriers.
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In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have retaliated with their own effective campaign of missiles, self-destructing aerial drones and maritime drones that have damaged or sunk several ships, Ukrainian officials said. Satellite images suggest Moscow has moved some of its naval forces to Novorossiysk, a Russian port on the eastern side of the Black Sea, and other safer locations.
In September, Kiev carried out its most successful attack, reportedly hitting the Black Sea Fleet headquarters during a meeting of senior commanders.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington DC-based think tank, said in a report released on Sunday that “attacks on Black Sea Fleet assets degrade its role as combined arms headquarters” but did not defeat it “as headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet.” Naval Forces.”
“The Ukrainian attacks are causing enormous moral shock among Russian commanders and in the Russian information space,” ISW said.
Kamila Hrabchuk in Kyiv and Natalia Abbakumova in Riga, Latvia contributed to this report.
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