Ukraine said today that it had successfully carried out its first drone strike against Russian ships in the Caspian Sea, a body of water more than a thousand kilometers from the Ukrainian border, France Press reported.
“For the first time, an explosive drone (…) hit an enemy ship in the Caspian Sea,” said an AFP source from Ukrainian military intelligence, saying the target was “about 1,500 kilometers” from the border.
According to the source, the attack hit the missile boats “Tatarstan” and “Dagestan” in Russia's Caucasus region.
Local authorities in Russia did not confirm whether any ships were damaged, saying only that a Ukrainian drone had been shot down. “The security regime at civilian and military locations has been tightened,” they said.
Since the start of the war, Ukraine has developed and modernized its own unmanned aerial vehicles, and their range continues to increase. However, Kiev's allies still deny their ability to use Western long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. Ukraine managed to repel the Russian fleet in the Black Sea with the help of drones of its own production, notes AFP.
Russia fired two missiles and 63 explosives-laden drones into Ukraine last night, more than half of which were shot down by air defenses, according to authorities in Kiev.
/NS/