On Wednesday, officials in Kyiv claimed that its forces successfully carried out a seaborne drone strike that targeted a Russian landing warship off the coast of occupied Crimea. Video of the drone approaching the Ropucha-class large landing ship Cesar Kunikov was shared on the Telegram social message app.

According to reports from Ukrainian military intelligence, the drones hit the port side of the ship, which caused the vessel to sink. The Cesar Kunikov is a Project 775 large landing ship that can carry 87 crew members. It was active in the conflicts in Syria, Georgia, and Ukraine.

"Ukraine has disabled a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet during the large-scale invasion," the Ukrainian armed forces told CNN after Wednesday's attack.

Kyiv claimed last week that its forces had disabled about 33% of the Russian Navy's warships in the Black Sea, amounting to 24 disabled ships and one submarine. The landing ship Caesar Kunikov would be the 25th disabled ship, according to Ukraine's count.

Though the Kremlin has not commented, Russian military bloggers who often publish information about incidents before they are confirmed by Moscow corroborated the reports of an attack against the Cesar Kunikov.

The Project 775 (NATO reporting name: Ropucha-I-class) large landing ship had previously been damaged in late March 2022 in the port of Berdiansk. Both the Caesar Kunikov and Novocherkassk, another Project 775 landing ship, have remained out of action due to a lack of spare parts to repair the ships.

That Sinking Feeling for Russian Navy 

The sinking of the Caesar Kunikov, if confirmed, occurred on the 81st anniversary of the death of her namesake, Ceasar Lvovich Kunikov, an officer in the Soviet Naval Infantry. Posthumously named a Hero of the Soviet Union for his heroic action, he was killed in the fighting to liberate Novorossiysk during the Second World War.

This would also be the second successful operation carried out this month against a Russian warship operating in the Black Sea. On February 1, Ukrainian Magura V5 sea drones struck the Russian warship Ivanovets, a small missile warship that usually holds a crew of about 40 people.

Kyiv said both attacks were carried out by a special unit called Group 13, which specializes in unmanned naval warfare. The attacks on the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet have been an embarrassment for Moscow, which has received scorn from the military bloggers.

"Time after time the Black Sea fleet turns out to be incompetent and unable to repel attacks from Ukrainian units," wrote Rybar, a popular Russian military blogger, in response to the attack on the Cesar Kunikov, The Guardian reported.

Sea-based Drones for Ukraine

This month's strikes also highlighted Ukraine's ability to strike back at the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet despite having no major warships of its own.

Ukraine has used "MAGURA" drones, which are just a few meters long and powered by jet skis. With a range of nearly 500 miles, these drones have proven quite effective in striking targets in Crimea. In addition to being difficult to spot due to their small size until it is almost too late, the drones are far more maneuverable than the Russian warships. 

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].