It was a great video posted a week ago.
The head of a sea-going drone showed its way over the sea in the direction of what was supposed to be a Russian warship.
When the drone got close, the image went black. The drone exploded.
NEW: A Ukrainian sea-going drone approaches a Russian warship in Russia’s largest port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. Ukraine has never used this type of drone against targets so far away.
Unidentified Ukrainian sources said that it was their drone and that it caused great damage to the Russian Navy ship.
Another video was supposed to show the ship being towed to the base in Novorossiysk with its side down.
Fix: This image is intended to show the damage caused by a Ukrainian Navy drone to the Russian warship Olenegorskij Gornjak in the Black Sea.
Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense
This is the first time that Ukraine has used drones at sea against a target so far far from the areas controlled by the Ukrainians.
A Russian tanker was recently attacked and damaged by a Navy drone.
An important bridge damaged
In mid-July, the Ukrainians sent two naval drones against the vital Kerch Bridge that runs from annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland.
Not only symbolic: on July 17, the Kerch bridge to Crimea was badly damaged by two Ukrainian drones.
Photo: Reuters
Part of the bridge sustained significant damage, causing supply problems for the Russian occupation force in Ukraine.
In April, Ukraine reportedly sent three drones across the sea to Sevastopol in Crimea. The city and port are the main headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The fastest at sea
It is said that the Ukrainians developed the new technology themselves. Therefore, they can use the drones against targets in Russia itself.
Western countries have stipulated that the weapons they provide will not be used except in the areas occupied by Russia.
Overview: Pictures of three drones sailing in Ukraine have been released on social media. The bottom one should be the most recent and advanced one. The middle charge is supposed to contain explosives aimed upwards, and is said to have been used against the Kerch Bridge.
photo: X / Twitter: @ChuckPfarrer
The drones look like small boats, which can carry 300 kilograms of explosives and cover a distance of 800 kilometers.
A representative of the Ukrainian manufacturer told the American television station CNN that it is difficult for the Russians to defend themselves against these drones.
They don’t have an effective defense. The equipment that Russian ships have is designed to attack other ships. They can’t hit such small drones. They are faster than anything else in the Black Sea, says the anonymous Ukrainian source.
– not ready
Professor Katarzyna Zisk of the Department of Defense Studies told NRK that the Ukrainians have been skilled in developing this type of drone that can travel over long distances.
Quick: A Ukrainian drone is on its way over the sea.
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
– This simply means that it will be much more difficult for Russia to protect its navy.
According to Zysk, it is important for Ukraine to force Russian surface ships not to leave Sevastopol Bay in Crimea. She says that it was successful and that the Ukrainians achieved this goal.
Unprepared: Professor Katarzyna Zisk, of the Department of Defense Studies, says that the Russian Navy has been rendered extremely vulnerable in the Black Sea by the Ukrainian Navy’s drones.
Photo: Norwegian Armed Forces
The expert also believes that the Russian Navy is now more vulnerable in the Black Sea.
– They’re obviously becoming more vulnerable, and I don’t think they were prepared for that kind of threat. He wasn’t there before this war started. Zisk says that the Ukrainian Navy’s drones make the Russian Navy very vulnerable.
She believes that this type of sea-navigating drone will eventually be used by other countries’ navies.
– They showed that you can use relatively cheap technology, relatively small drones. One can build it very quickly and challenge the big navy. Zisk believes it is an effective measure against an overwhelming enemy.
Russian countermeasures
Researcher Ståle Ulriksen at the Norwegian Maritime Academy told NRK that Ukrainian sea-going drones drop steeply into the water, barely hanging above the water’s surface.
Major threat: Researcher Ståle Ulriksen at the Norwegian Maritime Academy says the risk to Russian naval vessels is sharply increased by the Ukrainian navy’s drones.
Photo: Naval Academy
Thus, they are hard to see, and there isn’t much that radar systems can pick up either.
The researcher explains that drones will be vulnerable to machine guns, but especially at night they will be very difficult to detect.
– With these here, the risks increase very sharply for Russian naval vessels, Russian logistics vessels and transport vessels. Somehow, the Russians can’t dominate in the same way they did, says Ulrichsen.
He notes that drones force the Russians to maintain a much higher level of readiness, which puts more pressure on the people on board. There should always be people on duty.
Hard to detect: one of the few photos taken by the latest Ukrainian naval drone.
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
– The damage will not be like a torpedo exploding under a boat and breaking a keel. Ulrichsen says the drone would explode on the side of the ship in the waterline and possibly rip a hole in the boat.
He indicates that the explosion will continue in all directions, and it will not have the same power as the torpedo. However, it would be a huge threat.
The secret: It is not clear how many drones Ukraine has.
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
Professor Katarzyna Zysk believes that the Ukrainian attacks are significant for several reasons.
Russia has been very good at using electronic warfare and other types of defensive measures against Ukrainian drones. Ukraine loses a few of them. But we also see that many Ukrainian attacks were successful and of great symbolic significance for Ukraine in this war.
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