February has not been a good month for the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. Ukraine has managed to sink two of its ships in two attacks carried out with maritime drones. On February 1, the missile corvette Ivanovets Tarantul III class and 14 days later the landing ship Caesar Kunikov Ropucha class. Ukraine used a dozen USVacronym in English for Uncrewed Surface Vessels or Unmanned Surface Vessel, Magura V5.
In the two years of war that took place in Ukraine, hundreds of videos recorded by drones have been published in which a combat can be seen from the perspective of the device, but they are much less common. those in which you see the perspective of those who defend themselves or try to escape from the drones. The sinking of the César Kunikov has left as testimony one recorded by a Russian soldierequipped with a camera on his uniform, as they try to repel the attack of the Magura V5.
Video version with audio (partially). https://t.co/YwlZyDXOk0pic.twitter.com/bwipruh7ar
— Capt(N) (@Capt_Navy) March 6, 2024
In the video you can see the soldier carrying the camera and others firing machine guns at the approaching drones, sometimes briefly illuminated by tracer ammunition. The soldier enters and exits several times from the interior of the ship to the deck while firing and you can see a large explosion after 1 minute and 40 seconds. The video ends at 2 minutes and 43 seconds with what seems a new explosion, although not as close as the previous one. exist two versions of this video: one without audio with the full duration and another with sound, but with 20 seconds less and in which the final explosion is missing.
Kremlin military correspondents have published a video of an alleged Ukrainian naval drone attack on the Big Landing Ship “Tsezar Kunikov” on February 14
In the video, armed men try to hit surface targets with firearms, then an explosion is heard and a fire starts.
The… https://t.co/K6YzP05R7mpic.twitter.com/vkRhozeCb5
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 6, 2024
The duration of the night attack, with 10 Magura V5 dronesit was 20 minutes, after which César Kunikov took another 20 to sink. The tactic used in these attacks is that some drones try to concentrate the enemy fire while others They take advantage of the distraction to hit a vulnerable point on the ship.
According to Russia, there were no casualties. According to Ukraine, a large part of the ship's personnel. This is the testimony of the attack which is being shared on Russian social media and echoed by The Warzone:
“The crew repelled the naval kamikaze drone attack with all available forces and means, the battle lasted 20 minutes. Of the 10 drones, (the first) four were destroyed. The fifth drone hit the ship in the stern, thus immobilizing the ship, after which the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth drones alternately hit the ship on the port side in the area of midship and closer to the Stern, with the aim of capsizing the boat (due to the flow of a large amount of water from one side). The ninth drone partially entered the hole made by the previous one and detonated almost inside the ship.
There was no way to save the boat (the tilt was increasing rapidly (and) the boat was lying on its left side). From the moment the enemy drones were discovered and the start of the battle, until the ship was completely flooded, they passed a little more than 40 minutes. The crew abandoned the ship using life rafts, without loss of personnel and evacuated all the secret documentation and part of the secret equipment with weapons. The last, tenth drone, monitored the dying ship until it sankafter which it attempted to attack the accompanying tug, but was destroyed by the party on board.”
In another video shared by Ukraine and recorded from a Magura V5, you can see how the boat It is on fire and there are soldiers on the deck trying to repel the drones.
The Caesar Kunikov was the second largest ship in the Russian Navy after the Moscow which was sunk by Ukraine in another attack in April 2022. It had a length of 112.5 metersa sleeve of 15 meterscould transport 150 infantry soldiers and 10 tanks and their crew were 87 people.
The Magura V5, for its part, has a length of 5 and a half metersa scope of 833 kilometersa cruising speed of 22 knots and a maximum speed of 42 knots. It has water jet propulsion, an aerodynamic hull and can carry a payload of 319 kilograms.