TO THE BOTTOM
Incredible PoV moment Ukrainian kamikaze drone packed with 450kg of explosives blows up Russian warship
DRAMATIC new footage onboard a Ukrainian kamikaze drone shows the exact moment it hit a Russian warship at dawn this morning.
The marine drone, packed with a 450kg of TNT explosives, attacked the ship at Novorossiysk naval base in a humiliating blow to Vladimir Putin.
7
7
7
The video shows the alleged SBU Ukrainian intelligence sea drone zooming towards the unsuspecting Russian ship in the cover of darkness.
The video then cuts out as it appears to hit the warship believed to be either the Olenegorsky Miner or Olenegorsky Gornyak.
It was said to be carrying a payload of 450kg of TNT and, according to reports, the strike rendered the warship unable to perform combat tasks.
In the aftermath of the marine drone attack, the vessel looks half-sunk as it sits awkwardly low and tilted in the water in Russia's second largest port.
read more on the ukraine war
The Russian navy sought to save it by towing the damaged vessel into dock.
Russian state media stuck to earlier false reports that the drone attack on Novorossiysk was successfully repulsed - a claim undermined by the PoV video.
The suspected Ukrainian attack was allegedly orchestrated by both Ukraine's intelligence services and its navy.
A Ukrainian intelligence source told that: "The special operation was carried out together with the Navy.
Most read in The Sun
"As a result of the attack, the 'Olenegorsky Miner' suffered a serious hole and is currently unable to perform its combat tasks. All Russian statements about the 'attack being repulsed' are fake."
The source added: "The video shows how a surface drone of the SBU, saturated with 450 kilograms of TNT, attacks an enemy ship with about 100 crew members on board."
Other footage from the drone attacks shows a huge explosion in the harbour that sparked a massive fireball.
The blast in the Black Sea port was seen, some 450 nautical miles, from the Kyiv-held waters where the drone was likely launched.
Vladimir Putin’s forces deployed two warships to counter the strikes.
Ship movements in key port Novorossiysk - the second largest Russian-run after St Petersburg - were halted amid the drone strikes and sound of gunfire.
Two Russian naval vessels - landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak and anti-sabotage boat Suvorovets - were deployed to shoot at the incoming surface drones.
Locals reported seeing "a bright flash over the sea and explosions".
This was close to a major international oil pipeline system which delivers oil from western Kazakhstan to Black Sea terminals at Novorossiysk.
Explosions were reported after midnight and also closer to dawn as Russian air defences worked.
Meanwhile, loud explosions were heard in Russian-occupied Crimea as Ukraine staged a nighttime attack on a second port.
Russia claimed that they faced 13 drones and had shot down ten with three more disabled by electronic warfare jamming.
The Russian defence ministry said: "An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by aircraft-type UAVs on objects on the territory of the Crimean peninsula was thwarted.
“Ten drones were destroyed by air defence on duty. Three more enemy drones were suppressed by means of electronic warfare."
The attack follows a series of suspected Ukrainian strikes on Russia from the air and sea recently as Kyiv vowed to bring the war close to Putin's doorstep.
In the so-called "War of the Drones", Ukraine has been fighting back with increased vigour and equipment, launching 120 suspected strikes deep into Russia in only six months.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The latest hit comes just days after a hit by HIMARS missiles in the Kherson region left hundreds of Russian soldiers dead.
It comes as the head of Ukraine's security services (SBU), Vasyl Malyuk, confirmed that Kyiv was behind successful sea drone attacks on Russian ships in the Sevastopol Bay in October of last year and the recent bombing of the Crimean bridge.
7
7
7
7
Topics