Ukraine Is 'Demolishing' the Russian Navy 'At Port'
Ukraine's military demonstrated its long-range strike capabilities by targeting the Caspian port of Kaspiysk with drones on November 6, damaging at least two Russian Gepard-class frigates. British Military Intelligence assessed that the attack was likely in retaliation for Russian naval strikes on Ukraine, although the damaged vessels had not been directly involved.
What You Need to Know: Ukraine's military demonstrated its long-range strike capabilities by targeting the Caspian port of Kaspiysk with drones on November 6, damaging at least two Russian Gepard-class frigates. British Military Intelligence assessed that the attack was likely in retaliation for Russian naval strikes on Ukraine, although the damaged vessels had not been directly involved.
-The operation underscores Ukraine's ability to penetrate deep into Russian territory, forcing Russia to dedicate resources to defend high-value assets far from the frontline.
-This follows other Ukrainian strikes, including the assassination of a senior Russian naval officer in Crimea, highlighting Kyiv's evolving drone warfare strategy and precision retaliation efforts.
Ukrainian Drones Strike Deep Inside Russia, Damaging Navy Warships
Russian forces might be making some slow progress along certain parts of the contact line, but the Ukrainian military continues to show that its reach is quite long.
Last week, a salvo of Ukrainian drones flew hundreds of miles behind enemy lines to strike a Russian Navy facility, causing damage to several warships.
Drone Attack Behind Enemy Lines
“On 6 November 2024 Ukraine almost certainly targeted the Caspian port of Kaspiysk in Russia with an Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV),” the British Military Intelligence assessed in its latest estimate about the conflict in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military and intelligence services have pioneered long-range strikes with drones behind Russian lines. Indeed, the Ukrainians have shown remarkable engineering and creativity, creating sophisticated drones that can wreak havoc on Russian targets.
“The port highly likely hosted multiple Russian Navy vessels at the time, with at least two likely Gepard-Class frigates sustaining damage. The extent of this damage is currently unknown, however any damage to the vessels will highly likely be quickly repaired,” the British Military Intelligence added.
The particular Russian Navy unit has been used to target Ukraine multiple times.
“Russian Caspian Flotilla was likely used to launch mass attacks against Ukraine in 2022 and has continued to be used to launch infrequent attacks through 2023-2024,” the British Military Intelligence stated.
As the course of the war has shown thus far, the Ukrainians don’t forget. It might take them some time, but they will exact revenge on those they deem to target civilian targets and innocent people.
Only on Wednesday, the Ukrainian intelligence services killed Valery Trankovsky, a senior Russian officer and the Chief of Staff of the 41st Missile Brigade of the Russian navy’s Black Sea fleet, with a car bomb in Sevastopol, the capital of occupied Crimea.
The Russian naval officer had orchestrated several long-range strikes against Ukrainian urban centers and had been accused of committing war crimes.
“Ukraine likely attacked the Caspian Flotilla in retaliation for these strikes on its territory. It is, however, unlikely that the Russian vessels damaged in this strike had been used to launch direct strikes on Ukrainian territory,” the British Military Intelligence stated.
The Russian Navy has largely withdrawn its units from the area close to Ukraine because of the losses it kept suffering to Ukrainian aerial and underwater drones. To this day, the Russian Navy has lost over a dozen vessels damaged or destroyed, including a guided-missile cruiser and submarine.
“Whilst the current operational tempo in the Black Sea remains low, the attack demonstrates that Ukraine retains the ability to strike Russian targets in areas previously viewed as safe for operations,” the British Military Intelligence added.
The Russian military is thus forced to dedicate troops and resources to defend high-value military targets even if they are hundreds of miles from the frontlines.
“Prior to the strike, the Ukrainian UAV highly likely traversed a large area of Russian territory without being intercepted. This will highly likely cause concern to Russian political and military leaders,” the British Military Intelligence concluded.
About the Author
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image Credit: Creative Commons.
