Russia Sinks Ukrainian Navy Vessel In First Successful Sea Drone Operation

Russia is not just making steady gains on land of late, but at sea as well. On Thursday Russian and Ukrainian media described that Russia attacked and destroyed Ukrainian Navy vessel, killing one crew member and injuring several others,

“Efforts to address the aftermath of the attack are ongoing. The majority of the crew are safe, and the search for several missing sailors continues,” Ukraine Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told the Kyiv Independent.

Russia’s defense ministry had earlier in the day announced that a Russian naval drone hit the Ukrainian medium reconnaissance ship Simferopol near the mouth of the Danube River, after which the vessel sunk.

Ukrainian sources say that the vessel is “designed for radio, electronic, radar, and optical reconnaissance, and was armed with a 30 mm AK-306 artillery system.”

Russian state media is meanwhile hailing “the first successful use of a sea drone to take out a Ukrainian Navy vessel” – according to TASS.

According to WarGonzo, a Telegram channel, the vessel was the largest ship that Kiev had launched since the Western-backed coup in 2014.

The Simferopol “can be considered the personification of the ‘mighty’ naval forces of Ukraine,” the independent channel wrote on Thursday.

Previously in the war it was actually the Ukrainian side which showed itself most adept at deploying sea drones. Several devastating attacks on Crimean naval ships have forced Russia to transfer non-deployed navy ships to the Caspian Sea.

Purported Russian MoD video of the attack:

Footage of he destruction of the Ukrainian Navy’s medium reconnaissance ship “Simferopol” by a Russian high-speed unmanned boat at the mouth of the Danube River.

As a result of the attack, the Ukrainian Navy ship sank. – Russian MoD https://t.co/CXEI5dyG3e pic.twitter.com/ze46XwWyhs

— MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) August 28, 2025

But Moscow is trying to ramp up its development and manufacturing of sea drones, which act as suicide drones seeking to directly impact the hulls of enemy vessels.

Ukraine has not had the naval successes it once had earlier on in the conflict, when it was probably more directly aided by US intelligence and NATO military advisers. 

In a possible effort, to ‘counter’ Russia’s celebrating the ship sinking, Ukraine is now claiming a successful attack in the Sea of Azov:

The warriors from the @DI_Ukraine struck a russian Project 21631 “Buyan-M” small missile ship in the Azov Sea. This ship is a carrier of “Kalibr” cruise missiles. pic.twitter.com/Vj3iJK4fbp

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) August 28, 2025

There may have been a pulling back of US intelligence under the Trump administration of late, as he pushes for the sides to enter direct peace talks, but nothing is certain.