Footage published by the SBU showed a powerful explosion erupting from the water at a pier near where a submarine and other vessels were docked. Reuters confirmed the location of the video using the port’s layout and piers.
Read more: Peace deal gives Ukraine security guarantees similar to Article 5, official saysAlexander Kamyshin, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wrote on X that it was the first time in history that an underwater drone had neutralised a submarine, a claim rejected outright by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet hours later.
”None of the ships or submarines of the Black Sea Fleet stationed in the bay of the Novorossiysk naval base, nor their crews, were damaged as a result of the sabotage and are on duty as normal,” the fleet was quoted as saying by state news agencies.
Ukraine, which has practically no naval fleet left, has used sea drones and missiles to harry Russia’s large naval Black Sea Fleet and dislodge it from its perch in the port city of Sevastopol on the occupied peninsula of Crimea.
The diesel-electric submarine was one of many vessels that Russia was forced to move from Crimea to Novorossiysk in southern Russia, the SBU said.
The submarine is capable of carrying at least four Kalibr-type cruise missiles, one of the workhorses of Russia’s massive strikes that in recent months have inflicted serious damage to the Ukrainian power grid.
‘Turning point’
The strike comes amid a tense period of US-brokered peace negotiations that have sparked fears among Ukrainians that they will be bullied to accept settlement terms with Russia that they see as tantamount to capitulation.
Ukraine has been trying to show it can inflict significant damage on Russia, especially after US President Donald Trump said that Zelenskiy did not ”have the cards” in the negotiations.
Read more: Ukraine drops NATO goal as Trump envoy sees progress in peace talks
Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the operation to hit a submarine – which he described as the hardest target to hit – marked ”another turning point” in Ukraine’s naval battle with Russia.
”This day once again upends the perception of the possibilities of naval combat in this war,” he told Reuters.
It will be hard for Russia to repair the submarine as that would have to be done above water, which would mean the vessel would again be exposed to attack, he said.
Before Russia issued its flat denial, Pletenchuk said Russia had lost one of its four submarines stationed in Novorossiysk, three of which are capable of carrying Kalibr missiles.
Ukraine, which has been developing long-range drone and missile capabilities to narrow the gap with Russia’s large weapons arsenal, has been stepping up strikes on Russian oil, gas, power and military targets.
