Sea drones appear to be giving Ukraine an avenue to strike back at Russia. But what are they?
Another Russian warship listing in the water is probably not the image Vladimir Putin had in mind for his beloved Black Sea fleet – but it does demonstrate the increasing effectiveness of Ukraine’s sea drones.
The last few days have seen two attacks on Russian ships, both reportedly carried out by Ukrainian unmanned vessels.
In a war where Kyiv does not have the warships to challenge Moscow’s control of the Black Sea directly, the proliferation of sea drones appears to be giving Ukraine an avenue to strike back.
While the strategic value of such attacks is uncertain it is arguably significant for propaganda purposes and as a message to Mr Putin, in the same way as the sinking of the Moskva flagship last year.
Six dead in overnight strikes – Ukraine war latest updates
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Watch: Ukrainian sea drone attacks Russian ship
What happened in the Black Sea?
While questions remain about what exactly has occurred this weekend – and who was responsible – it seems that two Russian ships have been targeted with drones.
The first attack, news of which emerged on Friday, reportedly left the Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship with serious damage and footage appeared to show it partially submerged as it was towed to port.
A Ukrainian intelligence source said the ship “received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions”.
Russia denied the claim, with a regional official saying that no damage or casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
On Saturday, Moscow claimed that a Russian-flagged tanker was hit by a Ukrainian sea drone close to the Kerch Bridge that connects occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland.
The vessel targeted in Saturday’s attack was delivering oil to Russian troops based in Syria, according to Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia.
The SIG ship, its operator, and its owner, had previously been sanctioned by the US for helping provide jet fuel in Syria.
Ukrainian sea drones have been used in Black Sea attacks. File pic
What are sea drones?
Sea drones, sometimes called USVs, are small, unmanned vessels that operate on or below the water’s surface.
Military analyst Sean Bell told Sky News that these are “relatively cheap” and “provide a relatively fast and low-profile threat to Russian military ships, particularly when the attack is conducted at night”.
He added: “Maritime drones can operate on the sea surface or just below, where it is a lot more difficult for conventional radar to detect.
“They are usually made from carbon fibre to provide an element of stealth capability, and if attacks are conducted at night they are very had to detect with the human eye. And, the sound can be masked by the sea.”
Mr Bell described Ukraine as a “David to Russia’s Goliath” and said it has had to resort to asymmetric attacks to avoid a brutal war of attrition which would favour Russia.
“This has led to the widespread use of drones, whether for tactical surveillance of the battlefield, or for long-range strikes against strategic targets.”
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The landing ship appears to be listing on its port side
What impact can they have on the war?
Drones tend to be relatively small and therefore have limited capacity to carry a large explosive charge, Mr Bell says.
“The damage caused tends to be more psychological than physical, albeit the damage to the Black Sea fleet ships might take some time to repair.
“In some respects, drones are like wasps disrupting a summer BBQ – they are unlikely to cause any lasting damage, but they can be a major distraction to the main effort.”
SIG tanker
But he added that wars can also be won by destroying the enemy’s will to fight rather than purely through victory on the battlefield.
“Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated he wants to take the war to Russia, to expose the Russian people to the truth behind the rhetoric, and undermine Putin’s power base with the Russian oligarchs.
“Attacks on Russian territory and on high-profile targets – such as the Black Sea Fleet – all increase pressure on the Russian president.”
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Fire crews tackled a fire in the city of Starokostiantyniv, about midway between Kyiv and Lviv.
What does this mean for the future of warfare?
War generally brings a drive to innovate new and more efficient weaponry, and the conflict in Ukraine over the past year-and-a-half has been no different.
“Although it is always difficult to directly link lessons learned from this war into future conflicts,” Mr Bell says, “most military analysts believe that huge expansion in the exploitation of drone technology will have profound implications for future defence planning.”
He gave the example of the UK’s flagship Queen Elizabeth-Class aircraft carriers, which cost around £1bn each.
“Although there is a comprehensive array of defensive capability around such ships, the ease with which the Ukrainians were able to damage Russian ships will inevitably embolden potential enemies.
“And, the pace at which such technology can be adapted and married to potentially huge quantities of drones, will create an enduring challenge for defence planners.”
A government minister has declined to say if the UK was involved in a Ukrainian drone strike after the Russian ambassador partially blamed Britain for the attack.
More than a hundred drones were used to attack sites inside Russia over the weekend, leading to more than 40 warplanes being destroyed.
Speaking to The World With Yalda Hakim on Sky News following the attack, Russia’s UK ambassador warned it could risk escalating the conflict to “World War III”.
Follow live: Russia hits ‘almost all of Ukraine’ with more than 400 drones and 40 missiles – Zelenskyy
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Russia’s ambassador points finger at UK
Andrei Kelin pointed the finger at the UK because of the nature of the strike.
“[This] kind of attack involves, of course, provision of very high technology, so-called geospaced data, which only can be done by those who have it in possession. And this is London and Washington,” he told Hakim.
“I don’t believe that America [is involved], that has been denied by President Trump, definitely, but it has not been denied by London.
“We perfectly know how much London is involved, how deeply British forces are involved in working together with Ukraine.”
Asked if the UK had provided Ukraine with this technology, Steve Reed, the environment secretary, told Sky News: “I’m not going to speculate on something when I don’t know what the facts were.”
He said that “we as a government, cross-party actually, are standing foursquare alongside Ukraine as they fight – try to defend themselves – against a brutal, unprovoked and illegal attack and invasion”.
Mr Reed added: “We want there to be peace talks. We want this conflict to end. But it’s quite right that we should support Ukraine.”
Environment Secretary Steve Reed. Pic: PA
Challenged if this escalation could risk Britain getting sucked into the conflict with Russia more directly, the cabinet minister responded: “I do know that the people of this country and the government of this country, want to stand alongside Ukraine.
“We need peace to happen in that region, we can’t allow Russia to get away with invading any more countries.”
It comes at a time of escalating tensions in the region, with both Russia and Ukraine upping their attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country’s drone strikes at the weekend “will undoubtedly be in history books”.
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New Ukraine drone attack video analysed
The blow is seen as one of the most daring of the war so far, though the US estimated only around 10 Russian bombers were blown up – and Russia said none were.
Overnight, Russia claimed it downed 174 Ukrainian drones and three cruise missiles across the country.
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Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said Russia attacked towns and cities across Ukraine overnight.
Mr Zelenskyy said the assault was formed of more than 400 drones and 40 missiles.
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Russian ambassador interview in full
US President Donald Trump had urged Mr Putin not to retaliate on Thursday. He told reporters: “I don’t like it, I said don’t do it, you shouldn’t do it, you should stop it.”
In response to the allegations of British involvement, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “We never comment on operational matters at home or abroad.”
Russia’s UK ambassador has told Sky News that Ukraine’s recent attacks risk escalating the conflict to “World War III” as he partly blamed the UK.
Andrei Kelin warned that Ukraine’s actions “are bringing the conflict to a different level of escalation”, in an interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, and said Kyiv should “not try to engulf World War III”.
“That’s the very worst case scenario that we can imagine,” he said.
More than a hundred Ukrainian drones were deployed inside Russia over the weekend, destroying more than 40 warplanes in an attack Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “will undoubtedly be in history books”.
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New Ukraine drone attack video analysed
Mr Kelin pointed the finger at the UK when he said Ukraine must have had assistance in the attacks.
“[This] kind of attack involves, of course, provision of very high technology, so-called geospaced data, which only can be done by those who have it in possession. And this is London and Washington,” he said.
“I don’t believe that America [is involved], that has been denied by President Trump, definitely, but it has not been denied by London.
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Explosion recorded on Crimea bridge
“We perfectly know how much London is involved, how deeply British forces are involved in working together with Ukraine.”
On Wednesday, Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin told him “very strongly” that Russia “will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields”.
The US president said that he discussed the attack with Mr Putin during a phone call that lasted more than an hour.
“It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace,” he wrote.
Mr Kelin repeated this sentiment, telling Sky News: “It is up to the Ministry of Defence to make a right solution, but we have to respond to it.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We never comment on operational matters at home or abroad.”
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