Ukrainian Drone Sinks Russian FSB Patrol Ship Involved in 2018 Kerch Strait Attack

The Ukrainian Navy said it had destroyed the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) border patrol vessel Izumrud near Novorossiysk using the Sargan-3000 naval unmanned system.

“Ukrainian sailors sank the second-rank border patrol ship using the Sargan-3000 naval unmanned complex near Novorossiysk. There are both dead and wounded among the vessel’s crew,” the Navy said in a statement.

Commissioned in 2014, the Izumrud was equipped with a helipad, measured 62.5 meters (205 feet) in length, had a displacement of 630-750 tons, and could reach speeds of up to 27 knots.

According to the Navy, the Izumrud took part in Russia’s seizure of three Ukrainian naval vessels in the Kerch Strait on Nov. 25, 2018.

During the incident, Russian border forces rammed and fired on Ukrainian Navy ships as they transited from Odesa to Mariupol through the Kerch Strait.

Six Ukrainian sailors were wounded, and the crews were captured and taken to Moscow, where they remained in detention until a prisoner exchange in September 2019.

At the time, Russia’s FSB accused Ukraine of making “dangerous maneuvers” in what Moscow claimed were Russian territorial waters. However, Kyiv rejected the accusations, saying its vessels were exercising their lawful right of passage under international law.

Recent operation

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) said they struck 11 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov, bringing the total number of ships reportedly hit during Operation MoLoChKa [Dairy] to 116 in nine days.

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USF Commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi said the operation targets Russia’s feeder fleet – small tankers that transport oil through the Volga-Don Canal and the Sea of Azov to larger vessels waiting in the Black Sea.

According to Brovdi, disabling the feeder fleet disrupts both Russian oil exports and fuel deliveries to occupied Crimea. He added that Moscow’s alternative road and rail supply routes are also under constant Ukrainian fire.

Kyiv continues to defend its attacks on Russia’s shadow fleet, arguing that oil tankers financing the Kremlin’s war effort are legitimate military targets.