The Black Sea has once again become the focus of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and drones and unmanned boats frequently attack drones | related | conflict
Recently, Ukraine has repeatedly deployed drones and unmanned boats to strike Russian targets in Crimea and the Black Sea. In response to this, while condemning the Ukrainian attack, the Russian side has also actively taken countermeasures. The Black Sea has once again become the focus of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
On July 17th, the Russian National Counter Terrorism Committee announced that the Crimean Bridge was attacked by two Ukrainian surface unmanned boats in the early hours of the same day. The Ukrainian National News Agency also reported, citing sources, that the Ukrainian National Security Agency and the Ukrainian Navy may have carried out special operations on the Crimean Bridge at night and used surface unmanned vessels to attack the bridge.
On August 4th, the National Hydrological Service of Ukraine issued an alert stating that, according to a report from the Ukrainian Navy, the agency announced that there were risks in the internal and external waterways of several Russian ports in the Black Sea, including Anapa, Novorossiysk, Hryankhyk, Tuapshey, and Sochi. Subsequently, Ukraine carried out a series of operations using unmanned boats.
On August 4th, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that in the early hours of that day, the Ukrainian side attempted to attack a naval base in the Black Sea coastal city of Novorossiysk with two unmanned boats, which was destroyed by the Russian military. The Chief Executive of Krasnodar Territory stated that the attack did not cause any casualties or damage to facilities. Ukrainian media reported on the same day that the Ukrainian National Security Agency and the Ukrainian Navy carried out a special operation in Novorossiysk, resulting in serious damage to the Russian landing ship Miner Olenegorsk.
A day later, Russia reported that the Russian oil tanker "White Salmon" was attacked by Ukrainian unmanned boats in the waters near the Kerch Strait in the early hours of the 5th. Ukrainian media reported that the Ukrainian National Security Agency and Navy used unmanned boats to carry out an explosion on a large Russian oil tanker transporting fuel for the Russian military.
In addition, on July 24th, July 30th, and August 4th, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued multiple reports stating that Ukraine had deployed a large number of drones in an attempt to launch attacks on related facilities in the Crimea region. The Russian side claimed that all drones had been intercepted. Ukraine has not responded to these attacks.
Russia has launched strikes on Ukrainian facilities in response to drone and unmanned boat attacks. On July 18th, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Konashenkov reported that the Russian military used sea-based high-precision weapons to strike a shipyard in Odessa that produces unmanned speedboats, and destroyed facilities in the areas where Nikolayev and Odessa are located that store about 70000 tons of fuel.
