00:01Ukraine has claimed a first-of-its-kind military strike in the war with Russia, saying it used
00:14underwater sea drones to hit and disable a Russian missile-carrying submarine docked
00:19at a Black Sea naval base.
00:20Russia, however, has strongly denied that any damage was caused, calling the Ukrainian
00:25claims unsubstantiated.
00:29According to Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, the strike took place on Monday, December
00:3515, at the Russian naval port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea.
00:42The SBU said Ukrainian-made underwater drones, known as Subsea Baby, struck a diesel-electric
00:48Russian submarine while it was docked at the base.
00:53Ukraine described the operation as the first publicly-acknowledged use of its underwater
00:57drones against a submarine and claimed the vessel suffered critical damage and was effectively
01:02put out of action.
01:05Satellite imagery released by Ukraine showed the port before and after the alleged strike.
01:12Alexander Kamishin, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on X that it marked
01:19the first time in history that an underwater drone had neutralized a submarine.
01:25That claim was quickly rejected by Russia.
01:30Ukraine said the targeted vessel was a Project 636.3 Varshavyanka, also known as a Kilo-class
01:36submarine.
01:39According to Ukrainian intelligence, the submarine was carrying four launchers for caliber cruise
01:44missiles, weapons Russia regularly uses to strike targets across Ukraine.
01:50The SBU stressed that the submarine was not nuclear-powered and did not carry nuclear-armed
01:56ballistic missiles.
02:00Russia has rebased many of its Black Sea naval vessels from occupied Crimea to Novorossiysk
02:05in southern Russia.
02:09Ukraine says the move was intended to place them out of reach of Ukrainian strikes after
02:13Kyiv successfully targeted Russian ships in Sevastopol using missiles and sea drones.
02:22Ukraine itself has almost no traditional navy left but has relied heavily on drones and missiles
02:27to challenge Russia's much larger Black Sea Fleet.
02:32Russia's Black Sea Fleet flatly denied Ukraine's account.
02:36The information circulated by Ukrainian special services regarding the alleged destruction of
02:43a Russian submarine in the bay of the Novorossiysk naval base of the Black Sea Fleet is not backed
02:50up by facts.
02:52The enemy's attempt to carry out sabotage using an unmanned underwater vehicle was unsuccessful.
02:58No ships or submarines of the Black Sea Fleet stationed in the Novorossiysk naval bay, nor
03:05their crews were damaged as a result of the incident and are operating normally.
03:13On Tuesday, Russia's defense ministry released video footage showing what it said was the undamaged
03:18submarine still in the Novorossiysk naval bay.
03:22However, the date of the footage could not be independently verified.
03:29Despite Russia's denial, Ukraine's security service reiterated its position in a telegram
03:34post saying the submarine had been blown up by drones and sustained critical damage.
03:42Ukraine said the operation was carried out jointly by the security service and the navy.
03:48The strike came on a day when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was meeting US negotiators and European
03:54leaders in Berlin to discuss peace proposals.
03:59The timing appeared intended to reinforce Ukraine's argument that it can continue to pose a serious
04:04military threat if no agreement is reached.
04:09Speaking earlier while visiting Ukrainian positions near the northern frontline town of Kupiansk, President
04:14Zelenskyy linked battlefield results to diplomacy.
04:20Today achieving results on the front line is crucial so that Ukraine can achieve results
04:26in diplomacy.
04:28This is exactly how it works.
04:30Strong positions inside the country translate into strong positions in negotiations to end the
04:36war.
04:39Ukraine said its forces had recently encircled dozens of Russian soldiers near Kupiansk.
04:45They, Russian troops, are in the town center.
04:49They got into the town and they are still sitting there.
04:52And around the circle they basically don't pass.
04:55Maybe one unit, soldier or vehicle, can slip through.
05:03Everything is now on the outskirts of the city.
05:07As for how many are left there, they are being eliminated little by little.
05:12But mostly they are being eliminated on the outskirts.
05:17The security service provided limited details about the SubSeababy drones.
05:23Ukraine has been developing a fleet of unmanned miniature submarines ranging from about a foot
05:27to more than a yard in diameter.
05:31These weapons resemble long-range torpedoes, black cylindrical devices with fins, some capable
05:37of traveling hundreds of miles.
05:41Drone warfare has become one of Ukraine's most effective strategies during the conflict.
05:46Ukraine says drones have pushed Russia's Black Sea fleet largely out of open waters, forced
05:51many vessels to remain in port, and enabled strikes on oil refineries and Russia's so-called
05:57shadow fleet of oil tankers used to evade western sanctions.
06:04Russia's
Comments