The Ukrainian military released footage this week that it says shows its sea drones swarming and sinking a Russian missile corvette off the coast of Crimea.
“Warriors of the special unit ‘Group 13’ of the @DI_Ukraine destroyed the missile corvette ‘Ivanovets’ of the russian Black Sea Fleet,” Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as GUR, said in a statement. “As a result of a number of direct hits to the hull, the corvette was damaged, rolled to the stern, and sank. The value of the ship is approximately $60–70 million.”
The footage shows multiple instances where the unmanned drones slammed into the ship’s hull and detonated upon impact, creating giant fireballs that shot into the night sky. Toward the end of the video, the bow of the Ivanovets is pointed upward toward the sky as the ship sinks.
While the Russian military did not confirm that the ship was sunk, a prominent Russian military blogger posted on a social media account that the ship sunk after being hit three times, according to BBC.
WATCH:
Earlier today, off the coast of Crimea, Ukrainian forces successfully attacked and sunk the Russian Navy’s Project 12411 Tarantul-III class corvette Ivanovets.
Multiple Ukrainian USVs scored hits, causing catastrophic damage. pic.twitter.com/8v026SpM0d
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) February 1, 2024
The attack happened “in Lake Donuzlav, a saltwater inlet which is home to the Russian navy’s Southern Naval Base on the western coast of occupied Crimea,” The Telegraph reported.
Ukraine has sunk a few major vessels in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, including the flagship of the fleet, the Moskva.
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Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) noted that the sea drones have tipped the balance of power in the Black Sea, forcing the Russians to relocate the fleet and build a naval base hundreds of miles away to avoid the attacks.
“Ukraine has achieved this because it has largely prevented the Russian Black Sea Fleet from operating in the western Black Sea, where it is held at risk by Ukrainian missiles and uncrewed surface vessels,” the MoD said.