Sevastopol, the largest city on the Crimean peninsula illegally annexed by Russia, was awakened by several explosions early Saturday morning. As videos show, there were several drone strikes on the Russian naval base. According to Russian sources, the minesweeper Ivan Golubez of the Black Sea Fleet was damaged.
Nine unmanned aerial vehicles and seven autonomous naval drones were involved in the attack, Russia’s defense ministry said. “The emergency measures of the forces of the Black Sea Fleet have destroyed all air targets.” It remains unclear from the Russian side whether the unmanned overseas vessel (USV) was also destroyed.
Unmanned boat blows itself up
That UPS could be the same model of an unidentified UPS found in September on a beach near Russia’s main naval base, Sevastopol, according to naval expert HI Sutton*. The tiny vessel – only the size of a kayak – is propelled by a single board-mounted engine, which propels a steerable jet of water. This is apparent from images analyzed by the expert.
This suggests relatively high performance – it is designed for speed.
The UPS could be designed to ram into another ship and then detonate itself. This would also explain why the Russian defense did not hit the naval drones.
Was the Russian flagship hit?
As the military news site The War Zone reports, more Russian warships are also said to have been damaged. Video footage shows that a frigate of Admiral Grigorovich, one of Russia’s most modern and powerful warships, has been damaged.
It is said to be the Admiral Makarov. The frigate has been the new flagship of the Black Sea Fleet since the cruiser Moskva sank in April. This report cannot be independently confirmed at this time. However, this would explain why Russia reacted so violently and broke the grain deal with Ukraine again.
* This is what the expert calls himself, his full name is unknown