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Ukraine’s security service on Monday claimed responsibility for a first-of-its kind “special operation” that it said critically damaged a Russian submarine in Novorossiysk, a key naval hub on Russia’s Black Sea coast.
A Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) official told the Financial Times that the agency had deployed underwater drones together with the Ukrainian Navy to hit the Russian Kilo-class submarine known as the 636.3 Varshavyanka.
Dubbed “Sub Sea Baby” — named after the chief of the SBU, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, whose name translates from Ukrainian as “baby” — the drones are the latest naval attack vessel in Ukraine’s ever increasing arsenal.
The attack came amid a flurry of diplomacy and a pivotal moment in the latest round of US-led peace talks in Berlin.
Ukraine has continued to strike Russia’s energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, as well as military targets including airfields and naval vessels to show that it still has the capabilities to stand up to its bigger invader. Russia has also intensified its aerial bombardments and has made some territorial gains along the 1,000km frontline in Ukraine.
The SBU also said on Monday that its long-range aerial drones had for a third time attacked oil platforms belonging to Russia’s Lukoil in the Caspian Sea, damaging equipment. The FT could not independently confirm the strikes.
Ukraine recently opened a new line of attack against Russia by targeting ships in its so-called “shadow fleet”.
The Russian submarine was allegedly carrying Kalibr cruise missiles, which Russia has used in devastating strikes on critical infrastructure and military targets across Ukraine. The SBU said the submarine was “put out of action” as a result of the blast. The FT could not independently verify the claim.
Kilo-class submarines are valued at about $400mn. Due to international sanctions and restricted access to high-tech components, the SBU estimated the cost of building a replacement could now reach $500mn.
The port of Novorossiysk has taken on greater strategic importance for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet after a series of Ukrainian attacks with naval drones and missiles, including on Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, forced several vessels to relocate to Russian ports.
Russian authorities did not immediately comment on the attack.
Some pro-war bloggers have mentioned it with caution. If “accurate”, the strike “points to a serious failure in the organisation of the harbour’s defences”, Boris Rozhin, a military analyst, wrote on his Telegram channel. He added that the adversary “also appears to have an upper hand in the harbour in Novorossiysk”.
Kyiv credited previous surface drone operations with pushing Russian submarines out of Sevastopol Bay but leaving them vulnerable in Novorossiysk.
Ukraine’s General Staff announced in August 2024 that its forces had struck and sunk the Rostov-on-Don submarine belonging to the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the port of Sevastopol. Launched in 2014, the Rostov-on-Don was a Kilo-class submarine, as per Nato classification, and was one of four Russian Kilo-class vessels capable of launching Kalibr missiles.
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