A Ukrainian maritime drone was spotted and destroyed in the Black Sea, the Russian military said on Thursday. The vessel was hit in the open waters by a military aircraft.
“On October 5, in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet discovered and destroyed an unmanned boat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the military said in a statement, without providing any further details.
Later in the day, the Crimean authorities said that an “aerosol screen” was used by the Russian military in the city of Sevastopol near the Inkerman Bridge. The military did not provide any public comments on the use of the smokescreen and it was not immediately clear whether the incident was linked to the destruction of the sea drone.
Ukraine has repeatedly used maritime drones to attack Russian port infrastructure in Crimea, naval vessels, and the Crimean Bridge, which links the peninsula to the Russian mainland, amid the ongoing conflict. Arguably the most successful attack occurred in July, when a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded near the Crimean Bridge, heavily damaging the structure and killing two Russian civilians.
The incident comes a day after a Ukrainian commando raid on Crimea was repelled by Russian forces. According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the ultimate goal of the raid was simply to have photos and videos made on the peninsula against the backdrop of a Ukrainian flag.
The raid was preceded by a drone attack, but was ultimately foiled by the Russian Air Force, with the commandos sustaining casualties and one Ukrainian saboteur ending up in Russian custody.