Russia reports drone attacks on its Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol

Europe, News October 30, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

The Russian navy has reported that Ukraine has carried out a massive drone attack on Sevastopol, home to its Black Sea fleet, damaging one of its warships.

According to the Russian Navy, Ukraine used at least nine drones to carry out a massive attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol on October 29, 2022, however, no photos or any other substantial proof was provided to back the claims. Sevastopol is the largest city in the Crimean Peninsula and home to Russia’s most active military and commercial port located in the region.

Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev released a statement on Telegram regarding the attacks stating that “Today, starting at 04:30 am for several hours, various air defense systems in Sevastopol repelled drone attacks.” The statement further said that “All UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) have been shot down.”

The Russian Ministry of Defense also released a statement regarding the attacks as it stated that “In the course of repelling a terrorist attack on the outer roadstead of Sevastopol, the use of naval weapons and naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed four marine unmanned vehicles, three more devices were destroyed on the internal roadstead.”

The Russian ministry accused British naval specialists of providing assistance to Ukrainian drone operators to target the Russian fleet. It also said that the same unit of British naval experts was “involved in plotting, organizing, and implementation of the terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on 26 September this year to blow up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines”.

UK’s Ministry of Defense rejected the claims and said that Russia was “peddling false claims of an epic scale.” The British defense ministry added that this “invented story says more about arguments going on inside the Russian government than it does about the West.”

This is the second time that Russia’s Black Sea fleet has been targeted. Earlier in April this year, Ukrainian forces attacked the fleet’s flagship, cruiser Moskva, which later sank. The 510-crew missile cruiser had led Russia’s naval assault on Ukraine, and its sinking was a major symbolic and military blow.

*^{A satellite image of the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva in the port of Sevastopol, Crimea, on April 7, 2022. (Image Credit: Maxar Technologies)}*

Russia claims that the recent attack on Sevastopol is an attempt to sabotage the recently established “grain corridor”. An agreement between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by Turkey, allows Ukraine to resume its Black Sea grain exports, which had been blocked when Russia invaded the country. It was personally negotiated by the UN secretary general and celebrated as a major diplomatic victory that helped ease a global food crisis.

Russia complains that its own exports are still hindered, and had previously suggested it might not renew the deal. In recent days, Kyiv has accused Moscow of deliberately delaying the passage of ships, creating a queue of more than 170 vessels.