A Ukrainian maritime drone destroyed a Russian warship in the Black Sea on Friday, Moscow’s most serious naval strike since last year, reflecting both the escalating conflict at sea and the growing range and capabilities of uncrewed car of Ukraine.
The drone crashed into the ship and detonated its explosive payload near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, a major naval and shipping hub on the northeastern Black Sea coast, hundreds of miles from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory.
The New York Times has verified multiple videos and photos of a Ropucha-class landing ship listed on its port side, being guided both to port and to a dock. The same type of ship can be seen in a video taken by a naval drone speeding towards the ship and apparently hitting it on the port side.
The Black Sea has been an important theater of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly a year and a half ago, in which Russian warships there fired cruise missiles at Ukraine, including targeting hundreds of hundred miles inland, and enforcing a blockade on Ukrainian ports. . Moscow’s fleet has maintained a more cautious distance from the coast of Ukraine since Ukrainian forces sank the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, in April 2022, using missiles fired from the shore. .
The naval battle has heated up recently as Ukraine has expanded the size and reach of its drone force. With the stakes still rising, Russia last month withdrew from an agreement that allowed grain ships to pass to and from Ukraine, stepped up its bombing of Ukrainian ports and made threats against civilian shipments from other countries trying to reach Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv claim that since the deal was suspended, Russia has destroyed more than 200,000 tons of grain for foreign markets.
Three Ukrainian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said the Novorossiysk attack was a joint operation by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy. Publicly, Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, in line with its usual response to attacks inside Russia.
One of the officials said the damaged ship was the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a Ropucha-class ship built in the 1970s that can carry heavy loads such as armored vehicles. Landing ships are designed to deposit troops and equipment directly ashore, enabling amphibious assaults. For that purpose, many of them, including the Ropucha class, are open in the bow.
The Russian Ministry of Defense insisted that the attack caused no damage and that all the drones had been neutralized, claim both of which were shot into the water before reaching their targets.
Novorossiysk is an important port for Russia’s own grain exports as well as other goods, including oil. The movement of ships in the port was temporarily halted, Russian state media said, citing the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a group that manages oil exports through the port.
Also on Friday, Ukrainian aerial drones attacked a Russian naval port in Feodosia on the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula. The Russian Defense Ministry allegedly shot 10 Ukrainian drones and disabled three others, and said there was no damage to the port.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military’s southern command, told Radio Liberty that the Russian Black Sea Fleet uses a large oil storage facility at the port in Feodosia, and “therefore, we must continue to expect explosions there.”
The drone attacks came as the Kremlin enacted new laws expanding the pool of potential troops to fight what appears to be a long war that has already cost, by Western estimates, more than 200,000 Russian casualties. A bill signed Friday by President Vladimir V. Putin raises the maximum age for conscription from 27 to 30, and prohibits anyone named in a draft notice from leaving the country.
Other measures recently signed by Mr. Putin is raising the age at which reservists can be called up to active duty – up to 70 for senior officers – and increasing penalties for people who fail to report to draft offices as ordered.
Ukraine has recently stepped up attacks across its borders — pinpricks compared to Moscow’s steady, devastating bombing of Ukraine. But they reflect an effort to undermine Russian logistics and confidence, and signal to Russians that they are not immune to the effects of war.
There have been several attacks on Moscow, using newly developed aerial drones, and missiles launched at targets near the southern Russian cities of Taganrog and Azov.
In March 2022, an attack on the Russian-occupied port city of Berdiansk destroyed the landing ship Saratov, and Ukraine said to be damaged two other ships – the Caesar Kunikov and the Novocherkassk. That attack reportedly used missiles. Soon after came the sinking of the Moskva, the first battleship lost in battle anywhere in the world in 40 years.
Ukraine is racing to expand its fleet of maritime drones to counter Russian naval dominance in the Black Sea. In October, it used naval drones to attack the Russian fleet in Sevastopol, a Crimean port, though it is unclear how much damage was done, and Russia has repeatedly accused it of launching aerial attack drones at Crimea.
Last month, explosions damaged the Kerch Strait bridge linking Crimea to Russia. An attack on the bridge last year used a truck bomb, but the latest one was carried out by two naval drones — more than 350 miles by sea from the nearest Ukrainian-held coast, the first sign that Kyiv’s uncrewed attack boats have that kind of coverage.
Novorossiysk is even further away, more than 400 miles away.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday and Wednesday that it had repelled naval drone attacks on its ships in the Black Sea, off the coast.
Video of Friday’s attack shows a drone resembling Ukraine’s newly developed Magura V5, which was recently shown at a defense industry event in Istanbul.
The drone’s makers say it can travel about 48 miles per hour, deliver a payload of up to 705 pounds, and have a range of more than 500 miles.
Reporting was contributed by Victoria Kim from Seoul and Paul Sonne from Berlin.
