VIDEO: Ukrainian sea drones sink two Russian landing craft
Written by Nick BlenkeyAs the case of the dead Russian admiral who wasn’t that dead reminds us, it’s always wise to be cautious about reports coming out of a war zone. However, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has released a video that appears to offer convincing evidence of a successful sea drone attack on two Russian landing craft in the Vuzka Bay area of Russian-occupied Crimea.
Subsequently, the agency tweeted an aerial surveillance image indicating that the landing craft had sunk.
The Russian landing craft vessels were identified as being a Project 1176 Akula (Shark) class vessel and a more recent Project 1170 Serna (Chamois) type and, according to Ukraine, were carrying crews and loaded armored vessels when they were struck.
The Serna type vessels can carry up to 45 tons of cargo and feature an air cavity that builds up an air cushion as the vessels move, increasing speed and reducing fuel consumption.
“As a result of the attack, both Russian vessels sank to the bottom: the ‘Shark’ immediately, the ‘Chamois’ still unsuccessfully fought for survival, but also sank,” the Interfax Ukraine news agency quotes the Intelligence Directorate as saying in a post on its Telegram channel.
Meantime, if you were wondering how Ukraine is financing its sea drone program, the Intelligence Directorate says “the special operation was successfully implemented thanks to the support of the United24 platform,” implying that the drones were crowd-funded.