Ukraine strikes Russian ships with drones in Black Sea - ISW
Ukraine conducted strikes against Russian patrol ships of the "Vasyl Bykov" class (photo: kchf.ru)
Ukrainian defense forces conducted an attack using surface drones on Russian patrol ships in the Black Sea waters. The targeted vessels belonged to the occupying forces and were of the "Vasyl Bykov" project, reports analysts from the Institute for the Study of War.
According to a statement from the Ukrainian command, on September 14, defenders inflicted unspecified damage to two Russian patrol ships of the "Vasyl Bykov" class in the southwestern part of the Black Sea.
However, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the forces of their Black Sea Fleet had destroyed two Ukrainian military-naval drones in this area.
The "Ukrainska Pravda" publication reported that sources in the Security Service of Ukraine stated that on September 14, a military-naval drone significantly damaged a Russian corvette of the "Bora" class near the entrance to Sevastopol Bay. Still, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation had destroyed the Ukrainian surface drone and repelled the attack.
The Institute for the Study of War adds that, according to a Russian source, this corvette did not receive any visible damage.
Key findings:
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On September 14, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated Andriivka in the Bakhmut region, and on September 15, they continued offensive actions in the Bachmut region and in the western part of the Zaporizhzhia region.
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A member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and former Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District, Lieutenant General Andrey Gurulev, complained about falsehood within the ranks of the Russian armed forces and noted the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense against Russian helicopters.
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On September 15, Russian forces conducted another series of drone strikes using Shahed-131/-136 UAVs on rear areas in Ukraine.
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Chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Andrey Kartapolov, explicitly stated that the mobilized personnel will only be demobilized after the conclusion of the Russian "special military operation."
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The Russian Ministry of Defense continues its efforts to gain control over the operations of the Wagner PMC in North Africa and may have entrusted this task to former Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Sergey Surovikin.
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On September 15, Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupiansk - Svatove - Kreminna line in the Bachmut area, along the Avdiivka - Donetsk line, in the western part of the Zaporizhzhia region, and made advances in certain areas.
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The Russian occupying "authorities" continue their efforts to strengthen the ground communication lines that connect the occupied southern part of Ukraine with the temporarily seized Ukrainian Crimea and the territory of Russia.
Ukraine's strikes from the occupying fleet
On September 15, it became known that Ukrainian special forces destroyed a Russian missile ship "Samum" in Crimea using an experimental drone called "Sea Baby." According to information from RBC-Ukraine, this incident occurred on September 14 when the SBU's maritime drone conducted an attack near the entrance to Sevastopol Bay.
Prior to this, on September 13, a strike on the Sevastopol Shipyard damaged the large landing ship "Minsk" and the diesel-electric submarine "Rostov-on-Don."
Additionally, in August, the head of the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine), Vasyl Maliuk, mentioned that maritime drones were a unique development of the security service. These drones were responsible for the successful attack on the Crimean Bridge in July 2023, as well as the Russian landing ship "Olenegorsk Miner" and the tanker "SIG."
