The largest city in Crimea and the home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet woke up to heavy explosions and anti-aircraft fire during an attack Russian officials say included aerial drones and especially unmanned surface vessels (USV), both of which were 'suicide' or 'kamikaze' types mean to explode when they arrive at their targets.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have since released incredible footage purportedly from aboard several unmanned surface vessels used in the attack. The video shows the purported attack run on a guided missile frigate and Russian forces engaging the USVs with machine-gun fire.
The USVs appear to be of the same design as the mystery drone boat found near Sevastopol in September.
Russian officials claimed that only one vessel was slightly damaged while all Ukrainian aerial drones were destroyed and that "British specialists" were involved, without offering any proof. Russian-installed officials in occupied Crimea call it "the most massive since the beginning of the special operation."
The low-light footage clearly shows a Project 11356R Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate — one of Russia's most modern and powerful warships — underway, as well as Sevastopol harbor. There are reports that the Admiral Makarov, reportedly the Black Sea Fleet's new flagship after the Project 1164 Slava-class cruiser Moskva sank in April, was damaged in the attack. At this time, The War Zone cannot independently confirm reports about damage to the Admiral Makarov, though the low-light footage from the USV appears to show it getting very close to the missile frigate before cutting to other video of the harbor and an explosion on CCTV.
Ukrainian officials previously claimed in May that the Admiral Makarov sank like the Moskva after being hit by Ukrainian anti-ship missiles, though this was later debunked.
Ukraine released a video from today’s attack on Sevastopol. It shows a naval drone targeting the Black Sea Fleet’s Admiral Makarov Project 11356 frigate, which Russian sources said was damaged (it replaced the Moskva as the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship). https://t.co/zdAeWUvDrb pic.twitter.com/TNnIu4OIap
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) October 29, 2022