In what could best be described as a classic ‘uno reverse’ moment, Russia attacked one of Ukraine’s largest warships using an uncrewed surface vessel (sea/naval) drone.
This is the first such attack carried out by the Russian military and is being termed a massive setback for Ukraine, which has a small naval fleet.
The attack that took place on August 28 was acknowledged by Ukraine.
“We confirm the impact of the strike on the ship, and the consequences of the attack are currently being assessed. Most of the crew is safe. The search for several military sailors continues. Unfortunately, one crew member was killed, several were injured,” Dmytro Pletenchuk, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, told Ukrinform.
This marks the first recorded instance of a Russian naval drone strike on a Ukrainian ship.
“Using a high-speed uncrewed surface (USV) vehicle, the Ukrainian Navy’s Simferopol medium reconnaissance ship was defeated at the River Danube mouth,” read a statement by the Russian Ministry of Defense. “As a result of the attack, the Ukrainian ship sank.”
In contrast, the Ukrainian statement did not name the ship and did not admit its sinking. The attack was caught on camera, with two videos surfacing on social media. One was captured from an overhead surveillance drone, and the other showed the drone boat’s perspective as it approached the target vessel.
‼️ Footage has emerged directly from the surface drone-kamikaze at the moment of the strike on Simferopol. pic.twitter.com/cEiKg57A7X
— MAKS 25 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) August 28, 2025
Launched in 2021, Simferopol was a medium reconnaissance ship of Project Laguna, designed as a radio-electronic intelligence platform based on the 502EM trawler project.
It was designed for radio, radio-technical, radar, and optical-electronic reconnaissance, with a maximum detection range of 450 kilometers and the ability to track up to 200 targets simultaneously.
It had a displacement of 1,220 tons, a speed of 11.6 knots, and a range of 7,200 miles. It entered service in 2021 and has since been conducting electronic intelligence and surveillance in support of the Ukrainian Navy’s operations.
The loss of a large ship like Simferopol would likely be a massive setback for the Ukrainian Navy, which lost 80% of its fleet and key naval infrastructure during the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The Hetman Sahaidachny, a Krivak-class frigate with a displacement of around 3,500 tons, was Ukraine’s flagship until it was scuttled in 2022 to avoid capture by Russian forces. Since then, no ship of comparable size has been confirmed as operational in the Navy, which mainly operates small patrol boats and landing crafts.
The service is due to get Ada-class corvettes from Turkey, but they are currently undergoing sea trials, whereas the construction of the planned ‘Volodymyr the Great’ frigate had been suspended earlier.
More notably, though, the attack could be seen as symbolic of a Russian avenging the loss of Moskva, the largest ship in the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) that was attacked and sunk by the Ukrainian military in April 2022. In addition, Ukraine has used its naval drones to deal a severe blow to the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
In February 2024, Ukraine’s Magura V5 drones destroyed a missile-armed corvette and an amphibious landing ship, respectively. A month later, in March 2024, it used Magura V5 drones to sink the modern Russian patrol ship near the Kerch Strait, a $65 million vessel capable of carrying cruise missiles. Additionally, it also damaged some very significant assets, such as the Ropucha-class Olenegorskiy Gornyak using a USV, in August 2023.
Some reports suggested that Russia has attempted to destroy Simferopol on previous occasions. The vessel allegedly survived an Iskander attack in December 2024, before it succumbed to the drone boat attack nine months later. This information, however, could not be independently verified.
Russia did not specify the name or type of sea drone used to launch the attack. However, it appears to be a revenge tactic using the Ukrainian playbook, which has not only adopted but also adapted and mastered the use of naval drones as the ultimate asymmetric weapon against the Russian BSF, forcing it to retreat from the region.
Ukraine’s Drone Boat Attacks On Russia
Ukraine introduced sea drones early in the ongoing conflict to counter the dominance of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF). Ukraine’s two most popular and successful USVs—the Magura V5 and Sea Baby—are known to have evolved from simple and basic explosive-laden boats to sophisticated platforms capable of long-range, multi-role operations. It has also deployed the Magura V7 in recent months.
Worth just a fraction of the price of traditional warships, at about $250,000, these USVs have enabled Ukraine to continue mounting highly effective strikes without the risks and expense associated with manned vessels.
Ukraine’s drone boat terror began in October 2022 when an unprecedented operation saw small uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) penetrate Russian defenses and reach the depths of Sevastopol harbor, targeting the flagship of the Russian Navy.
This high-profile operation marked a significant shift in naval warfare, underscoring the potential of drone boats in modern combat.
In 2023, USV activities became much more intense, peaking in the summer with the strike on the Ropucha-class landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak near Novorossiysk. And by May 2024, Ukraine started equipping these vessels with R-60 and R-73 air-to-air missiles. These infrared-guided missiles didn’t require precise aiming before launch, making them well-suited for sea-based platforms.
The Magura V5 naval strike drone accomplished a historic feat on December 31, 2024, by downing a Russian Mi-8 helicopter. At the time, the Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR) stated that during a battle in the Black Sea off the western coast of Crimea, the special unit Group 13 fired an R-73 “SeeDragon” missile from the Magura-V5 drone.
Additionally, one of the Russian Mi-8 helicopter pilots who was struck by a missile fired from a Magura V5 USV also provided Ukrainian intelligence with a radio intercept in which the pilot explained the nature of the strike and its impact.
In March 2025, Ukraine released First Person View (FPV) drones from these drone boats in March 2025 to hit Russian air defense systems and surface-to-air missiles. This heralded a new era of drone warfare where sea drones would act as motherships for aerial drones, a template that is likely to be used by militaries globally.
However, the ultimate sea drone victory came in May 2025, when a Ukrainian Magura V7, armed with a pair of AIM-9X Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles, shot down a Russian Su-30SM naval fighter jet approximately 50 km west of Novorossiysk—a first in aviation history.
This incident demonstrated that the sea drones are the future of warfare. At the time, military expert Vijainder K. Thakur said, “the ambush was likely staged around 50 km from the coast, beyond the reach of Russia’s routine coastal patrols.”
Despite lacking a conventional navy, Ukraine has leveraged innovative, cost-effective naval drones to challenge Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, achieving strategic victories that have reshaped the nature of naval warfare.
The tactic, described as “sheer genius” in asymmetric warfare by General David Petraeus, a retired US Army General, has since inspired other countries, such as Taiwan and even the United States, to invest in sea drones.
Russia’s use of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) in the conflict with Ukraine has been far less extensive and impactful compared to Ukraine’s innovative and highly effective sea drone campaign. However, the latest attack suggests that it is now finally catching up.
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