The Ukrainian reconnaissance and special operations unit "Group 13" reported the sinking of another Russian naval vessel in the Black Sea on the night of 4 to 5 March 2024 not far from the Kerch Bridge. This strategic link from the Russian mainland of the Krasnodar region to the Crimean peninsula is the most important supply route for the Russian occupying forces in Crimea and southern Ukraine. The area is another 250 kilometres away from the sea areas off Sevastopol, where the missile corvette "Ivanovets" (Nanuchka-II, 1 February 2024) and the landing ship "Caesar Kunikov" (Ropucha, 14 February 2024) have already been sunk by drone-based swarm attacks.
Once again, the infrared images from the "Magura 5" surface drones show the approaches to the target, the explosions and the gruesome view deep into the stern of the corvette, which has been torn open by the previous hit, immediately before the next hit - presumably another from aft - before the "unit kills" are placed from both sides. At least five drones with at least three hits have sunk the Vasily Bykov-class corvette "Sergei Kotov" (Project 22160).
These remote-controlled drones of a simple design are now so successful in swarm attacks that Russian units can hardly move freely, especially in the dark, let alone effectively intercept Ukrainian grain transport on the western sea route in the Black Sea.
Project 22160, type boat "Wassili Bykow". Photo: Michael Nitz
The sunk corvette is considered to be build number four of this 91-metre-long class, which displaces up to 1,500 tonnes depending on the modular payload/additional armament, and was its youngest boat. Two of them were built in Zelenodolsk/Tatarstan on the Volga far inland (near Moscow), while construction numbers 3 and 4 were completed in Kerch on the Crimea, where they were also put into service with the Russian Federation's Black Sea Fleet from 2018 to 2022.
Nevertheless, the corvette "Sergei Kotov" has already been attacked twice in the past year (July, September) by two drones each time without, according to Russian reports, being able to reach the target. In contrast, Ukrainian media reported considerable damage to the "Sergei Kotov" during the second attack. The question of whether this report was correct is now superfluous.
According to Ukrainian information, the sister ship "Pavel Dzerzhavin" (construction number 3) was attacked and damaged by "Sea Baby" drones, a parallel development to the "Magura" drone, together with a Bujan-class ship near the Sevastopol base in early/mid-October 2023.
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