Ukraine hits Russian ship, air defense systems and fuel depots in occupied Crimea

Ukraine fired a volley of drones overnight in occupied Crimea, hitting a Russian vessel, air defense systems and fuel depots, Kyiv military officials said.

Footage posted Thursday by Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), shows a Ukrainian drone targeting a Russian Svetlyak-class patrol ship in eastern Crimea.

Despite being equipped with air-defense missiles and anti-aircraft weapon systems, the Russian vessel fails to detect the UAV before it slams into the ship.

The assault was part of a wider overnight attack across Crimea, with the drones also hitting a Pantsir-S1 air defense system in Strilkove and an RSBN-4N radio navigation system near Saky, Brovdi wrote on Telegram.

At least three people were killed and seven others wounded after Ukraine targeted a fuel depot in the city of Simerfopol, with another death reported after a drone hit a commuter train in Kerch, Russian-installed leaders in Crimea said.

Ukrainian drones also hit Russian trains stationed in Vladyslavivka and Rozdolne and fuel storage tanks in Makiivka, Kyiv officials added.

The strikes on Crimea come just a day after Ukraine unleashed a massive drone blitz on Moscow’s largest fuel export hub in St. Petersburg, hometown of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine also hit the Kronstadt naval base and shipyard in Leningrad Oblast, with footage released by Kyiv showing damage to Russian warships, including the Baltic Fleet corvette Boikiy.

Both Ukraine and Russia have been ramping up their overnight attacks across the border, with Moscow firing more than 700 drones and missiles at Ukraine on Tuesday in a massive attack that left at least 22 people dead.

Kyiv has signaled that its mass drone attacks would carry on as the USF claimed it took out more than 100,000 Russian troops as of Thursday, marking an end to the first year of the new military branch.

The USF also claims to have damaged or destroyed more than 37,000 Russian drones, 248 air defense systems and nearly 2,200 tanks and armored vehicles in its first year.

Brovdi said the branch aims to take out 200,000 Russian troops and 650,000 military targets next year, with Ukraine pushing to ramp up drone production in the coming years.

Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Mstislav Banik called on NATO to help provide funds for drone production, with Kyiv ready to produce 20 million UAVs per year if the resources are provided.