The attack on the Russian port of Novorossiysk on Friday — hundreds of miles from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled point on the Black Sea coast — appeared to be a further demonstration of the growing reach of Kyiv’s drone fleet. It came just weeks after Ukraine used maritime drones to attack the Kerch Strait Bridge to Russian-occupied Crimea.
A video of the attack on Friday, verified by The New York Times, was captured by a naval drone that resembles the MAGURA V5, which Ukraine has previously used to attack Russian warships.
The Ukrainian military has been racing to expand its fleet of naval drones. Since losing a large number of naval vessels in the early days of the war, Kyiv has had to wage an asymmetric battle in the Black Sea.
One sign of Ukraine’s growing maritime capability came in October 2022, when Kyiv attacked Russian warships in Sevastopol, Crimea, with sea drones as well as aerial drones.
New York Times News Service
