Several Ukrainian underwater drones attacked and neutralized a Russian combat submarine this month in the port of Novorosíisk, in one of the Russian Navy’s main bases in the Black Sea, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in a statement. “As a result of the explosion, the submarine suffered serious damage and fell out of service,” the note said. Moscow assures that no damage was caused to any of its ships in Novorosíisk.
This is the first such operation carried out by the kyiv army, carried out with Ukrainian-made drones, known as Baby submarine. This was later confirmed by Alexánder Kamyshin, advisor to President Volodimir Zelenskiy, who shared on X an image of the explosion that caused the attack, where other boats were located, as well as the submarine. “I spent a lot of time waiting for this day,” he said. Reuters was able to confirm the placement of the video released by the Ukrainian military using the layout and walls of the port.
At the time of the attack, the submarine carried four Kalibr missile launchers on board, according to the SBU memo, which recalls that Russia had been forced to refloat a large part of its Black Sea fleet to the port of Novorosíisk due to Ukraine’s repeated attacks with drones against Russian ships while they were docked in ports on the Crimean peninsula. Kalibr missiles have been used frequently by Russia in recent months to cause serious damage to Ukraine’s power grid.
For his part, Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmitro Pletenchuk said the submarine attack operation – which he called the most difficult objective to achieve – marks “another turning point” in the naval war between Ukraine and Russia. “This day will radically change the perception of the possibilities of naval combat in this war,” Reuters said. Furthermore, it was said that it would be difficult for Russia to repair the submarine, as this would tend to be done above water, meaning the ship would again be exposed to further attacks.
From Russia, no type of damage has been reported to anyone on board its ships. “None of the ships or submarines of the Black Sea Fleet moored in the bay of the Novorosíisk naval base, among their crews, suffered damage from sabotage and returned to normal service,” the Russian military said, according to state news agencies.
Ukraine, which has virtually no naval fleet, has used drones and missiles to harass the Black Sea Fleet and dislodge it from its favored position in the port city of Sevastopol on the occupied Crimean peninsula.
Furthermore, the attack took place amid a tense period of U.S.-mediated peace negotiations, which left Ukrainians fearful of being imprisoned and accepting the terms of the deal with Russia, which they saw as amounting to capitulation.
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