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.”
The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.
European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.
Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.
Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.
One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.
Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters
“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.
“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”
Pic: AP
On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.
“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.
“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.
“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Pic: AP
Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.
Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.
There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.
But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.
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