Video shows moment Russian Black Sea ships destroyed in naval drone attack

New footage appears to show the moment Ukrainian naval drones attacked Russian ships in Moscow-controlled Crimea, in the latest round of Kyiv’s strikes on the annexed peninsula.

On Thursday, Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency said one of its special units, known as Group 13, had “destroyed” two Russian patrol boats using the service’s uncrewed surface vessels (USVs).

A brief clip, posted by the GUR, appears to show at least one naval drone under attack by a helicopter. Grainy night-vision footage then looks to show a vessel firing towards incoming drones, before cutting to what appears to be the moments just before at least one USV strikes a stationary ship.

Russian forces used various fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and small arms to defend against the naval drones targeting Western Crimea, the GUR said.

Newsweek could not independently verify Ukraine’s report, nor the footage, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Moscow’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that its Black Sea Fleet had “destroyed four Ukrainian unmanned boats in the northwestern part of the Black Sea” over the past day. In an earlier statement, Russia’s government had said its air defenses had intercepted eight Ukrainian-operated Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles over the Sea of Azov—to the northwest of Crimea—and eight airborne drones in the Black Sea closing in on the peninsula.

The GUR has developed the Magura V5 marine attack drones, frequently used to launch strikes against Russian assets in Crimea. The USVs are credited with successful attacks on a string of Russian vessels in the Black Sea.

The Group 13’s naval drones destroyed Russia’s Ivanovets missile ship, the Caesar Kunikov landing ship, a Russian corvette and a high-speed patrol boat since the start of the year, the GUR said in a statement.

Ukraine’s operations in the Black Sea have been one of the most effective parts of Kyiv’s war effort.

Earlier this year, former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia’s Black Sea Fleet would have additional weapons, including large-caliber machine-guns, to fend off Ukrainian drone onslaughts.

Kyiv has damaged or destroyed an estimated quarter of the Black Sea Fleet since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian drone and missile strikes have shoved Russia’s operations further east into the Black Sea, many of its vessels relocated from the Crimean base at Sevastopol to Novorossiysk, in Russia’s Krasnodar region.