Ukrainian underwater drones struck a Russian Kilo-class submarine docked near Novorossiysk, marking the first publicly acknowledged combat use of Ukraine’s unmanned sea drones against a submarine. Kyiv says the attack caused critical damage to a vessel armed with Kalibr cruise missiles, though Russia denies the damage. The strike, carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service and Navy, underscores Kyiv’s growing use of drones to challenge Russia’s naval power and strengthen its position in ongoing diplomatic negotiations. They write:

Ukrainian underwater drones struck a Russian submarine for the first time on Monday, causing critical damage to the vessel and making it the first publicly acknowledged use of the new class of Ukrainian weapons, according to Ukraine’s domestic intelligence agency.

At the time of the attack, the Kilo-class submarine was docked in a Russian Black Sea port near the city of Novorossiysk and carried four launchers for Kalibr cruise missiles, which Moscow regularly uses to attack across Ukraine, the agency said. Kilo-class vessels are not nuclear-powered and do not carry nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.

Russia confirmed the attack but denied that its submarine had been damaged. […]

The Security Service said the drones involved were of a type called Sub Sea Baby, but provided no more details about them. Ukraine has been developing a fleet of unmanned, miniature submarines ranging from about a foot to more than a yard in diameter. The weapons are essentially long-range torpedoes, looking like black cylinders with fins, some capable of traveling hundreds of miles. […]

While Ukraine claimed the strike on Monday was the first time it had struck a submarine with sea drones, it was not Ukraine’s first attack on a Russian submarine. Ukraine previously struck another Kilo-class submarine, the Rostov-on-Don, twice with missiles while it was docked in Crimean ports — first in September 2023 and again in August 2024. It said the vessel had been damaged beyond repair.

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