In a dramatic escalation of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, Kyiv claimed last week that it used sea drones to sink a small Russian warship in the Black Sea. Moscow, meanwhile, accused Ukraine of shooting down a Russian military transport plane with US-made missiles last month, killing 74 people.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known by its Ukrainian acronym GUR, published a video that it said showed naval drones assaulting the Russian missile-armed corvette Ivanovets on Wednesday night.
The footage released on GUR’s social media purports to show multiple naval drones crashing into a vessel and exploding. According to GUR, the ship costing $60 million-$70 million was on patrol on Lake Donuzlav in western Crimea, when a GUR special unit struck it. The lake has been more of a bay since 1961, when a channel connecting it to the Black Sea was dug out.
The private security firm Ambrey said Ukraine used up to six sea drones, each of which usually carry 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of explosives, in the attack. The GUR footage showed the ship was sinking. Russian officials made no immediate comment on the Ivanovets.
A drone pilot involved in the operation disclosed to CNN that ten ‘MAGURA’ drones were deployed, with six successfully hitting and sinking the Russian vessel, marking a notable defeat for Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
These ‘MAGURA’ drones, described by the pilot as only a few meters in length and jet ski-powered, boast an impressive range of around 800 kilometers (nearly 500 miles). This extensive reach allows the unit to initiate drone attacks from various points along Ukraine’s coastline, targeting sites within Crimea.
As per the CNN report, the pilot, known by the call sign ’13,’ is part of a special unit within Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency (GUR). This unit has been associated with numerous strikes on Crimea and even inside Russia, utilizing drones to extend Ukraine’s strike capability beyond the range of its conventional arsenal.
The pilot described the precision required in controlling the drones, likening it to ‘jeweler’s work.’
A Western official backed the Ukrainian account, saying it was ‘highly likely that uncrewed surface vessels were responsible for the strike on the Ivanovets.’ Ukrainian attacks on Russian aircraft and ships in the Black Sea have helped push Moscow’s naval forces back, allowing Kyiv to increase crucial exports of grain and other goods through its southern ports. Ambrey, the security company, noted that any unexploded drones could be a threat for Black Sea shipping.
Ukraine’s army chief, Gen Valerii Zaluznhyi, called the development of unmanned weapons systems ‘a central driver of this war’ in an opinion piece published by CNN. Zaluzhnyi’s essay came out as rumours swirled about his looming dismissal amid a purported rift with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In it, the general outlined his assessment of the state of the war and laid out priorities for Ukraine in 2024, while also addressing the challenge of drafting more soldiers into the army — a reported source of tension between him and Ukraine’s leader.
‘We must acknowledge the significant advantage enjoyed by the enemy in mobilizing human resources and how that compares with the inability of state institutions in Ukraine to improve the manpower levels of our armed forces without the use of unpopular measures,’ Zaluzhnyi wrote.
Another problem, he said, is ‘production bottlenecks – in ammunition, for instance – which further deepen Ukraine’s dependence on its allies for supplies.’
The general listed three areas Ukraine should focus its main efforts on in 2024: ‘Creating a system to provide our armed forces with high-tech assets. Introducing a new philosophy of training and warfare which takes account of restrictions in assets and how they can be deployed. And mastering new combat capabilities as soon as possible.’
