The Russian military has intercepted an attempted landing by Ukrainian marines near Kherson and destroyed a group of sea drones headed for Crimea, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow.
Overnight, a group of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) was detected on approach to the Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol.
Combat camera footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday showed them being destroyed in the water.
“The on-duty fire systems destroyed seven unmanned boats in the Black Sea,” the ministry said, without elaborating.
Meanwhile, a group of Ukrainian commandos tried to land at the tip of the Kinburn Peninsula, overlooking the mouth of the Dnieper, early on Friday.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, four boats approached the Kinburn Spit, attempting to land a “sabotage and reconnaissance group.” Under covering fire from two of the boats, about a dozen troops stormed the beach.
The Ukrainians quickly took casualties from a field of sea mines, however. Those who managed to reach the shore were “eliminated by small-arms fire,” the Russian military said. When they tried to retreat, they lost two boats to artillery and anti-tank missile fire.
Kherson governor Vladimir Saldo said that the invaders lost three boats and 12 saboteurs.
According to Moscow, the attackers were members of the Maritime Special Operations Center of the Ukrainian Navy, based in Odessa.
Kiev’s forces have repeatedly launched drone attacks on Sevastopol and the Crimean Bridge, as well as commando raids on Kinburn and Cape Tarankhut, attempting to raise the Ukrainian flag and post videos on social media.
A major drone raid was wiped out in May, with a total of 15 USVs sent to the bottom of the Black Sea. Another major drone raid was defeated last September.
Ukrainian landing parties headed for Russian shores were destroyed last August and last November as well.
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