Russia denied Ukrainian claims

By Ulf Mauder

Kiev (dpa) — The Ukrainian intelligence service SBU has claimed that it damaged a submarine and “practically disabled” it during a special operation targeting the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The strike was reportedly the first successful use of an underwater drone of the “Sub Sea Baby” type against a Varshavyanka class submarine, which is the equivalent of NATO’s Kilo classification, the SBU wrote on Telegram on Monday.

These claims have not been independently verified. The Russian Black Sea Fleet rejected this account. However, there have been multiple Ukrainian attacks on ships in the same port before.

According to the Russian Navy, there was indeed an attack, but it was not successful. “None of the ships or submarines of the Black Sea Fleet stationed in the bay of the naval base Novorossiysk, or their crews, have been harmed by the sabotage action; They are performing their duties as usual,” said Alexei Rulyov, the head of the press service of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

SBU: Submarine used for attacks on Ukraine

Russia denied Ukrainian claims

The intelligence service in Kiev also released a video purportedly showing the explosion of the boat.

“There were four launch devices for Kalibr cruise missiles on board the submarine, which the enemy uses for attacks on the territory of Ukraine,” the SBU said in explaining the use of the drone.

It was a joint operation between the 13th Main Directorate for Military Counterintelligence of the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy, the SBU said.

The construction of such a submarine could cost Russia up to $500 million today due to Western sanctions, which make everything more expensive, the SBU further reported.

According to the intelligence service, the destroyed submarine had previously been stationed on the Russian-annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. It was relocated from the bay of Sevastopol to Novorossiysk due to previous attacks with Ukrainian sea drones, like other warships.

In Crimea, Ukrainian forces claimed to have already managed to damage a submarine in August 2024.

With their sea drones, Ukraine has also recently attacked oil tankers from the so-called Russian shadow fleet multiple times.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for over three and a half years now.