Kyiv [Ukraine], August 6 : The next shot in a Ukrainian military campaign that uses unmanned vehicles to attack distant Russian targets by air and water was fired when a maritime drone from Ukraine targeted one of Russia's largest oil tankers, according to CNN.
According to a Ukraine Security Service source, a drone carrying 450 kilogrammes (992 pounds) of TNT struck the Russian-flagged ship the Sig. According to Russian authorities, the strike left a hole in the engine room of the ship at the waterline on the starboard side, prompting the 11-person crew to block the water intake.
Finally, the flooding subsided, according to CNN.
No injuries were recorded, according to Russia's Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport, and the Sig was not transporting oil at the time the drone struck it. CNN was informed by Ukrainian officials that the tanker was transporting fuel for the Russian military and that some crew members had been hurt.
The strike on the Sig came just hours after Ukrainian sea drones targeted a major naval base in Novorossiysk, a coastal city on the Black Sea that is home to Russia’s largest port by volume of cargo handled. An amphibious Russian landing ship was hit, leaving it tilting badly and sitting very low in the water.
Ukraine has stepped up its attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles in recent weeks, hitting targets well within Russian territory, including in Moscow.
The weapons are fast, semi-submersible drones, and are proving very difficult to defend against. They can be easily launched at sea and at least some variants are capable of travelling several hundred miles to their targets, CNN reported.
Their payloads so far have proven capable of crippling large vessels.
The two sea-based attacks Friday took place near the Kerch Strait, which connects the Crimean Peninsula to mainland Russia.
After illegally annexing the peninsula in 2014, the Kremlin spent around USD 3.7 billion to both physically and symbolically connect Crimea to Russia by bridge. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally led a convoy over the 12-mile overpass – Europe’s longest – to celebrate its opening in 2018, CNN reported.
The Kerch Bridge has been targeted several times since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. An explosion in October killed three people and collapsed part of the roadway and Ukrainian forces attacked the bridge last month.
Friday’s assault, however, appeared to be one of the biggest to date. In addition to the attacks on the Sig and the naval base, Friday morning saw Ukrainian aerial drones target an oil storage facility in Feodosia, a town on the Crimean Peninsula’s south coast. Ten unmanned aerial vehicles in total were downed over Crimea, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
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