The attack took place on a dark night. Ukrainian drones were approaching quickly over the water.
When the crew of the Russian patrol ship Sergei Kotov saw them, it was too late. The Russian sailors opened fire with heavy machine guns, but their ship was hit and destroyed.
Ukrainian naval drones have revolutionized naval warfare over the past few years, relentlessly stalking Russian ships on the high seas and even at naval bases.
Group-13, a secret Ukrainian military intelligence unit, was behind the attack on “Sergey Kotov” last week, and the BBC has been given rare access to its operations.
The unit, which was formed last year, says it has sunk five Russian ships and damaged several others. But its commander, who asked to be called the call sign “Thirteenth,” says the Sergey Kotov has been the most difficult target so far.
Group-13 attacked the ship twice and damaged it, but managed to sink it only on the third attempt.
PHOTO AUTHOR, GUR OF UKRAINE
Commander Thirteenth invited us to a seemingly quiet corner of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast to show one of the unit's naval drones in action.
The Magura V5, named after the Slavic goddess of war, looks like a small motorboat with a flat surface instead of passenger seats.
“It doesn’t give off much heat, so it’s almost invisible to thermal imaging cameras. It’s made of plastic, so even radar has a hard time seeing it,” says Thirteenth.
The drone, manufactured by the Ukrainian armed forces, has a claimed range of 800 km, making it easily capable of reaching the Crimean peninsula and even the Russian coast. It can carry a payload of 250 kg – enough to sink a warship.
The boat's remote control resembles one of those "nuclear briefcases" used by world leaders in Hollywood movies to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. It even has a red toggle switch for "manual detonation," Thirteenth explains.
The drone is controlled from the base via satellite communication.
“You can control it from anywhere in the world as long as you have internet,” says Thirteenth. The Magura V5 also has backup connections in case the main one fails, he adds.
He acknowledges that Russian electronic warfare systems can jam the signal, but claims that drones are capable of combating it. He did not explain how.
When the Magura drone attacks a Russian ship, it can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h, according to the developers. Its speed and size (6 m long) make it difficult to spot, especially among the waves at night.
Last week, the crew of the “Sergey Kotov” saw this for themselves.
Under bullets
Soldiers on Russian ships try to destroy approaching drones with heavy machine guns, but they are difficult to hit because they are so small and maneuverable.
The use of special tracer munitions that glow when released helps Russian troops fire at night. However, these shells also help Ukrainian drone operators dodge bullets.
“They show us where they are firing from, where they are hitting, and in which direction we should move to maneuver,” says Thirteenth.
Judging by footage of past attacks, several drones usually participate in one attack to increase the chances of hitting the target.
Warship hunting operations can last for days. Operators must remain focused the entire time.
“After work, I'm exhausted like a squeezed lemon,” Thirteenth quipped.
Ukrainian military intelligence does not disclose the cost of its drones. However, Trindadstsyy claims that the Russian missile boat Ivanovets, destroyed by Group-13 last month, cost Russia more than all the drones produced by GUR since the beginning of 2023.
Vulnerability of the Russian Navy
Ukraine's success with naval drones in this war dates back to the attack on the flagship Admiral Makarov in 2022. This operation was carried out by the SBU special service, which also produces its own Sea Baby and Mamay drones.
Last year, it also carried out drone attacks on the Kerch Bridge, which connects occupied Crimea and Russia, and the port of Novorossiysk in Russia.
Ukraine lost almost its entire navy after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Its only remaining frigate, the Hetman Sahaidachny, was purposely sunk just days after the full-scale invasion in February 2022. It was in poor technical condition.
PHOTO BY MAX DELANY/AFP Photo caption, “Admiral Makarov”
However, Ukraine managed to resist Russia's attempts to dominate the Black Sea.
In 2022, Ukraine sank the Russian flagship Moskva with its Neptune missiles. It also hit a submarine and the Russian naval headquarters in Sevastopol, reportedly with long-range Storm Shadow missiles.
Russia lost five of its approximately 13 amphibious assault ships in the Black Sea. Two of its four smaller patrol warships were also destroyed or damaged.
But it is the naval drones that have made Russia’s Black Sea Fleet particularly vulnerable. Under relentless attacks, Moscow has been forced to withdraw the core of its fleet from Crimea and move it further east, to Novorossiysk. And even there, Russian ships remain within range of Ukrainian drones.
As a result, Russian ships are staying away from the Ukrainian coast and limiting their time in the open sea. Launches of Kalibr cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea are now much less frequent, says Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.
The last confirmed launch was in mid-February, and “there had been no sea-based cruise missile launches for several months before that,” he says.
It is believed that 10 Russian missile carriers remain in the Black Sea, including three submarines. Almost all of them are currently stationed in Novorossiysk.
