Ukraine has struck again—this time deep inside Russia’s prestigious Kronstadt Naval Base near St. Petersburg. In a daring overnight drone raid, Ukrainian forces reportedly damaged the Russian corvette Boikiy, exposing vulnerabilities in one of Moscow’s most protected naval strongholds. The attack comes at a critical moment for Putin and raises serious questions about Russia’s ability to defend key military assets. Is the Baltic Fleet now in Ukraine’s sights? Watch to find out.
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NewsTranscript
00:00In a war of world firsts, Ukraine just pulled off another.
00:03Near St. Petersburg lies the Kronstadt naval base,
00:08the official headquarters of Russia's Baltic fleet,
00:11a base that was supposed to be untouchable.
00:13Then Ukraine came knocking.
00:15Well, scratch that, Ukraine blew the base to pieces
00:17in an overnight drone raid that sends a clear message to Putin.
00:21Russia's most protected naval port is now a target.
00:25And to hammer the point home, Ukraine hits something in Kronstadt
00:28that Russia will never be able to replace.
00:30We'll get to what that is soon.
00:32First, the strike.
00:33It was massive.
00:35And it's the latest sign that Ukraine has delivered
00:37that there is nothing in Russia that is safe from the country's drones.
00:41The War Zone, or TWZ, has the details in a June 3rd report.
00:45Overnight, Ukraine's drones flew hundreds of miles
00:48to arrive at the Kronstadt naval base.
00:50This isn't any old base.
00:52It's among the most prestigious of all Russia's naval assets
00:55and it's located in a city that is both Putin's hometown
00:59and the jewel in the crown of Russia
01:01in terms of the image that Putin wants to display to the world.
01:04That jewel has just been tarnished by Ukraine's drones.
01:07And Putin has the first separate center
01:10of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces to thank.
01:13That unit coordinated the entire strike
01:15and we can deduce how based on a few interesting factors.
01:19First, there's footage from the strike.
01:21That tells us that there was either a local operator
01:23somewhere on the ground near Russia's naval base
01:25who was directing traffic,
01:27indicating that Ukraine has drone operators
01:29working outside of its own territory,
01:31or
01:31the drones Ukraine used operated using a SATCOM link,
01:35meaning that Russian electronic warfare
01:37completely failed to stop the drones in their tracks.
01:39Neither scenario is good for Putin.
01:41Both tell him that the supposedly untouchable Kronstadt base
01:45isn't as protected as he thought.
01:47Other possibilities are that Ukraine used short-range drones
01:50for its attack on Russia's naval base.
01:52That seems unlikely.
01:53It would require Ukraine to have sent a mothership of some kind
01:56into the waters around the base to unleash the drones.
02:00Ukraine has that capability.
02:02Images have already started circulating
02:04of Ukraine transforming an Aeroprakt A-32 light sport aircraft
02:08into a drone-carrying destroyer.
02:09And on May 26th, Forbes reported
02:12that Ukraine has adapted some of its naval drones,
02:14so they're now capable of transporting FPV drones
02:17to a target ahead of an attack.
02:19Whatever the specific method used,
02:21the results are the same.
02:23The first separate center of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces
02:26just struck a base that was supposed to be out of reach.
02:28And while there, those drones just happened to destroy
02:31something that Russia can't replace.
02:33Before we get to that,
02:35a few more details about the Kronstadt naval base
02:37reveal why it's so impressive
02:38that Ukraine was able to hit this target.
02:40United 24 media points out
02:42the base has long served
02:44as one of Russia's most important naval strongholds,
02:47and that it's one of two key bases
02:48that Russia's Baltic fleet uses
02:50to try to maintain control over the Baltic Sea.
02:53Located about 20 kilometers away from St. Petersburg,
02:56the base is supposed to be heavily protected.
02:58It provides Russia with a clear route
03:00into the Gulf of Finland,
03:01which, in turn, allows Russia to maintain
03:03an ever-present threat against NATO's eastern flank.
03:06Russia uses the base to host corvettes,
03:09patrol vessels, and support ships,
03:10and it just so happens to have
03:12repair and maintenance facilities
03:13to help keep the Baltic fleet afloat.
03:15Keep those facilities in mind,
03:17we'll be coming back to them soon.
03:19Perhaps the biggest role that Kronstadt plays for Russia
03:21is that it's a gatekeeper base.
03:23Any naval threat that attempts to reach Russia
03:25via the Baltic Sea first has to pass by this base.
03:28That, more than anything else,
03:29is why it's so important to Russia.
03:31If Kronstadt is taken offline,
03:33Russia's defenses weaken.
03:35Putin can't afford that.
03:36Russia's strongman leader is desperate to project power,
03:39especially as Russia's spring and summer offensives
03:41in Ukraine falter.
03:42If Ukraine is hitting a base
03:44that is supposed to stop a Baltic invasion of Russia,
03:46that shows the world that Russia is vulnerable.
03:49But then Ukraine has made exposing Putin
03:51a speciality in recent months.
03:52We saw that on June 3rd,
03:54as Kronstadt naval base
03:55was far from the only target in St. Petersburg
03:57that felt the wrath of Ukraine's drones.
04:00Ukraine's Baltic blasts,
04:02which is part of a wider campaign in St. Petersburg,
04:04that seems to have been designed to humiliate Putin.
04:06Elsewhere in the city,
04:08Ukraine struck against the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal,
04:10which is one of Russia's largest oil export hubs.
04:13That terminal plays a crucial role
04:15in Russian logistics and fuel exports, CNN reports,
04:18so the loss of it will cause major problems
04:20for Putin's patsies on the front.
04:22However, the St. Petersburg strikes
04:24weren't just about hurting Russia's naval assets
04:26in oil infrastructure.
04:27The timing was immaculate.
04:30Ukraine's drones touched down on the very same day
04:32that St. Petersburg was set to host
04:34at the start of the multi-day
04:35St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
04:38The annual event,
04:39which has been called the Russian Davos,
04:41welcomes thousands of attendees
04:43from all across the world,
04:44and it traditionally hosts Putin
04:46as a keynote speaker toward the end of the event.
04:49June 3rd was supposed to be a day
04:50when St. Petersburg was a beacon
04:52of Russian economic power.
04:53Instead, it became a day
04:55when smoke filled the air
04:56and all of the talk would have been
04:57about Ukraine's drones
04:58rather than Putin's attempts
05:00to build economic relationships.
05:02Russia's leader has just been left
05:03with egg on his face.
05:05He'll likely still appear at the forum,
05:06but he can't escape the embarrassment
05:08that Ukraine just inflicted upon him.
05:10Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky,
05:12has confirmed that Ukraine was behind
05:14this latest series of strikes.
05:15There are positive results
05:17from our long-range strikes
05:18carried out by soldiers of the SSU,
05:20the Unmanned Systems Forces,
05:21the Special Operations Forces,
05:23the Defense Intelligence
05:24of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine,
05:25and the State Border Guard Service,
05:27Zelensky declared in the aftermath.
05:29He focused on the St. Petersburg oil terminal,
05:31though Ukraine's president
05:32also made a vague statement
05:34that purely military targets
05:35at the Kronstadt base were also hit.
05:37That's an understatement.
05:38The reality is that what happened in Kronstadt
05:40is the headliner
05:41of Ukraine's St. Petersburg strikes.
05:43And the reason why comes down
05:45to something very specific
05:46that is up in flames
05:47due to Ukraine's drones.
05:49That something is irreplaceable for Russia,
05:51and it has in the past
05:52played a key role in ensuring
05:54that the Shadow Fleet ships
05:55sailing through the Baltic
05:56get to their destinations.
05:58But before we reveal
05:59what Ukraine hit in Kronstadt,
06:01we have a quick side note.
06:02You are watching the military show,
06:03and we bring you the full story,
06:05not just the headlines.
06:06If you're enjoying what you're watching,
06:08make sure you hit subscribe
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06:12Nestled deep within the Kronstadt naval base
06:14was a ship.
06:15A Russian corvette named the Boyki
06:17was undergoing repairs at the base
06:18ahead of being sent back out into the Baltic,
06:20where it could continue to pose the threat
06:21that Putin wants to create in the region.
06:23That isn't going to happen anymore.
06:25Russia's ship may have been hidden
06:27in a supposedly impenetrable base,
06:28but Ukraine found it,
06:30and the country's drones hit the ship hard.
06:32The commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces,
06:35Robert Brovdy,
06:36has provided footage
06:37that shows Ukraine hit exactly what it intended
06:39to hit at Kronstadt on June 3rd.
06:41The footage is shot from the perspective
06:43of the incoming drones,
06:44as TWZ explained,
06:45and it shows that not one,
06:47but two of Ukraine's unmanned aerial vehicles
06:50scored direct hits on the Boyki.
06:52To manage those hits,
06:53Ukraine's drones had to penetrate deep enough
06:55into the Kronstadt base
06:56to reach the base's dry dock,
06:58presumably overcoming Russian air defenses
07:00in the process.
07:01And what we see as the drones hit their targets
07:03are explosions that indicate
07:05that Russia's corvette isn't going to be sailing again
07:07any time soon.
07:09It's the second strike
07:10that appears to have done all the damage.
07:12In its report on Ukraine's Baltic strike,
07:14Euromiden Press says
07:15that Ukraine's second drone
07:16scored a direct hit
07:17on the center of Russia's corvette,
07:19sparking a massive fire
07:20on the Boyki's bridge.
07:21But the fire isn't the big news.
07:23Ukraine aimed for the center mass,
07:25because that part of the Boyki
07:26is where all of the most expensive
07:28and important electronics
07:29that the warship uses are located.
07:31Russia's corvette
07:32has a 4K2 airborne surveillance radar,
07:35that has just gone up in flames
07:36due to Ukraine's drones.
07:38It also has electronic warfare systems,
07:40navigational systems,
07:41and a Monument A guided missile radar,
07:44all of which are stored
07:45in the precise location
07:46that Ukraine's drones just hit.
07:49Ukraine may not have sunk the Boyki,
07:50but it may as well have done.
07:52Without that equipment,
07:53the ship is practically dead in the water,
07:54at least in terms of its usefulness
07:56to the Baltic fleet.
07:57The Boyki can no longer see,
07:59and it's lost the equipment
08:00that was supposed to help it
08:01stop attacks like this in the first place.
08:02It's a sitting duck,
08:04an already broken ship
08:05that has just been taken
08:07completely out of commission
08:08for who knows how long.
08:10Satellite images
08:10that have emerged from the scene
08:12show us that Russia
08:12doesn't have a hope
08:13of hiding the damage.
08:15Those pictures show fire crews
08:16trying to put out the blaze on the ship.
08:18Both the bridge and the tower
08:20are blackened by the fire,
08:21and appear to have partially collapsed.
08:23Oh, and it's not like
08:24the water being used
08:25to put out the fire
08:26is going to be all that great
08:27for any of the electronic components
08:28on the Boyki's center
08:29that managed to survive the fire
08:30that Ukraine's drones caused.
08:32Russia has a lot of corvette repairs
08:34in its future.
08:35The odds are high at this point
08:37that it may give up
08:37on the Boyki altogether,
08:39especially if the damage
08:40that Ukraine's drones caused
08:41proves to be more extensive
08:42than we've seen so far.
08:44For Russia,
08:45the loss of the Boyki
08:46will be a major problem
08:47for the country's Baltic posture.
08:49At its peak,
08:50this is a dangerous ship.
08:51The vessel is one of Russia's
08:52most modern,
08:53as it's one of the
08:54Project 20380
08:56Sturigushi-class corvettes
08:57that Russia designed
08:58to be a jack-of-all-trades
08:59on the water.
09:00The Boyki is supposed
09:01to be able to deal with
09:02surface, submarine,
09:03and aerial threats,
09:04and it's been in service
09:05with the Baltic fleet
09:06since 2013.
09:08The reason it was
09:08at the Kronstadt naval base
09:09in the first place
09:10had nothing to do
09:11with it being damaged
09:12in the line of duty.
09:13The Boyki entered the base
09:14in February
09:14for routine repairs
09:15after more than a decade
09:16spent at sea.
09:17What was supposed to be
09:18a quick patch-up
09:19has been turned
09:20into a nightmare for Russia.
09:21The floating host
09:22of 100mm guns,
09:24Kh-35 anti-ship missiles,
09:26and a redoubt air defense system
09:27is going to be spending
09:28a lot longer in Kronstadt
09:29than Russia anticipated.
09:31As damaging as this
09:32will be for the Baltic fleet,
09:33it's even more of a problem
09:34for the Shadow Fleet vessels
09:36that are traveling
09:36through the Baltic
09:37carrying oil
09:38that Russia sells
09:39to other countries.
09:40Brovdi claims
09:41that the Boyki
09:42had an enchanting history
09:43of travel and venture
09:44along NATO borders,
09:46accompanying the Shadow Fleet.
09:47In other words,
09:48the ship provided
09:49a military escort
09:49to the shady tankers
09:51that Russia has been using
09:52both to transport oil and gas
09:54and to conduct hybrid warfare
09:55against NATO nations
09:56that extends to sabotaging
09:58undersea cables
09:58and launching drones
10:00that fly into NATO territory.
10:01So the loss of the Boyki
10:03isn't just bad news for Russia.
10:04It's a boon for NATO
10:05as it tries to tail Russia's use
10:07of the Shadow Fleet
10:08to skirt sanctions.
10:09That fleet means
10:10everything to Putin.
10:12According to the
10:12Royal United Services Institute,
10:14Russia has spent at least
10:15$14 billion to create
10:17its fleet of shady ships
10:18and it's generated
10:20many billions of dollars
10:21more in oil revenue
10:22from their service.
10:23Japan Forward said
10:24that taxes on the revenue
10:25that these ships generate
10:26provide as much as 40%
10:28of Putin's Ukraine war budget,
10:30cripple the Shadow Fleet
10:31and Putin's war machine
10:33falls apart.
10:34Taking out a corvette
10:35that helps to protect
10:36Putin's decrepit tankers
10:37is a big step.
10:38What Ukraine has just done here
10:40isn't just humiliating
10:41for Russia.
10:41It creates opportunities
10:43for Shadow Fleet ship
10:44sieges in the future.
10:45We've already seen
10:46NATO nations start
10:47to step up their game
10:48when it comes to
10:48taking Putin's oil vessels
10:50off the water.
10:51Just two days before
10:52Ukraine's Baltic strike,
10:53the news broke that
10:54France had intercepted
10:55an oil tanker
10:56named Atagor
10:57around 400 nautical miles
10:59off its Atlantic coast
11:00and there have been
11:01several other interceptions
11:02besides,
11:03all of which
11:03have stung Putin's Shadow Fleet.
11:05Now that Boyki
11:06isn't available to ward off
11:07potential interceptors,
11:08we may start to see
11:09more Shadow Fleet vessels
11:10being captured.
11:11Perhaps the seeds
11:12of a new strategy
11:13have just been planted.
11:15Ukraine shatters
11:16Russia's Baltic fleet
11:17and the country's partners
11:18start stopping more
11:19of the Shadow Fleet
11:19from selling oil.
11:21Russia will want to
11:21replace the Boyki
11:22as soon as possible,
11:23but therein lies
11:24a major problem.
11:26The ship is
11:26practically irreplaceable.
11:28Russia only built
11:29six of the Project
11:3020380 ships
11:31in the first place
11:32and it doesn't seem
11:33to be building anymore.
11:34If Putin is going
11:35to send a comparable
11:36corvette into the Baltic Sea,
11:38he's going to have to
11:38do it by weakening
11:39another part of the
11:40Russian Navy.
11:41And depending on just
11:42how extensive the damage
11:43done by Ukraine's drones
11:44is, Russia may not be able
11:46to repair the Boyki
11:47that now sits stricken
11:48in its most important
11:49Baltic base.
11:50The electronics that Ukraine
11:51hit are a concern
11:52in their own right.
11:54As Russia creaks under the
11:55weight of tens of thousands
11:56of Western sanctions,
11:57it will likely find it
11:58very difficult to get its
11:59hands on replacement
12:00components for those
12:01electronics.
12:02However, there's another
12:03element at play here,
12:04Ukraine.
12:05Specifically, Ukraine's
12:07shipbuilders.
12:08Despite being one of the
12:09newer additions to
12:10Russia's Navy,
12:10the Project 20380
12:12is far from an
12:13ultramodern ship.
12:14Euromiden Press reveals
12:15that the vessel has
12:16inefficient engines
12:17and poor propulsion
12:19systems,
12:19suggesting that Russia
12:20has attempted to blend
12:21Soviet-era technology
12:22with more electronics
12:24to create a class of
12:25corvettes that appear
12:26more modern than they
12:26really are.
12:27Now, take a guess
12:28at which country
12:29was building the engines
12:30that are used in the
12:31Project 20380 corvettes
12:33right up until 2014,
12:35it was Ukraine.
12:36And ever since Russia
12:37began its initial
12:38campaign of aggression
12:39against Ukraine in 2014,
12:40there have been no new
12:41Project 20380 engines
12:43flowing into Putin's
12:44Navy.
12:45Combine that with the
12:46fact that Russia's
12:47shipbuilding industry
12:48is now a complete mess.
12:49Defense 24 points out
12:51that most of Russia's
12:52Navy is made up of
12:53Soviet-era warships
12:54and the demand for new
12:55vessels is so high
12:57that Russia's shipbuilders
12:58can't come close to
12:59fulfilling it.
13:00Russia doesn't help
13:01itself here.
13:02Almost all of the funds
13:03dedicated to the
13:04country's Navy are poured
13:05into the development
13:06of nuclear-powered
13:07submarines, leaving
13:08surface ships sorely
13:09underfunded.
13:10If Ukraine has managed
13:11to take out the
13:11Boyki's engine, that
13:12will mean only one
13:13thing, Russia's
13:14corvette will never
13:15sail in the Baltic
13:16again.
13:17When we said that
13:18Ukraine had hit
13:18something irreplaceable,
13:19that's what we meant.
13:20It's not that the
13:21Boyki is such a marvel
13:22of modern technology
13:23that Russia would be
13:23hard-pressed to
13:24replicate the ship.
13:26Rather, Russia's
13:26shipbuilding and
13:27naval funding are both
13:28in such shambles that
13:29a ship that might
13:30otherwise be fairly easy
13:31to replace or repair,
13:32will instead have to
13:33languish in the dry dock
13:34of a naval base for
13:35months, if not years.
13:37That's yet another
13:38humiliation for Putin
13:39after his St. Petersburg
13:40disaster.
13:41And that brings us
13:42nicely to why Ukraine's
13:43Baltic strikes matter
13:44so much.
13:45As great as it is that
13:46Ukraine has just taken
13:47out a Baltic fleet
13:48warship, it's the
13:49symbolism that really
13:50matters for Ukraine.
13:51As Putin tried to
13:52kick off one of the
13:53most important economic
13:54and geopolitical events
13:55in the Russian calendar,
13:56talk of the town
13:56wouldn't have been the
13:57deals being made,
13:58but the plumes of
13:59smoke, raging fires
14:00and crippled ships
14:01are just a few
14:02kilometers away.
14:03What Ukraine has done
14:04is serve up a timely
14:05reminder that the war
14:06that Putin started
14:07has just come back to
14:08Russia.
14:08There's no escaping it
14:09and despite Zelensky
14:11claiming that Ukraine
14:11doesn't follow where
14:12Putin is going in the
14:14aftermath of the
14:14St. Petersburg
14:15strikes, there's no
14:16denying the timing on
14:17display here.
14:18This was not a
14:18coincidence.
14:19Ukraine chose the
14:20perfect time to take
14:21out the Boiki.
14:22But as he tries to
14:23wipe the egg off his
14:24face, Putin's much
14:25bigger concern now is
14:26that a new front has
14:27opened up in the war.
14:28The Baltic region,
14:29which for so many
14:30years has been safe
14:30from Ukraine's
14:31strikes, is now open
14:32for business.
14:33With this attack,
14:34Ukraine has proven
14:35that its drones can
14:36fly hundreds of
14:37kilometers into one
14:38of the most protected
14:38regions of Russia
14:39and still score
14:40direct hits.
14:42More will be coming.
14:43Ukraine's main
14:44intelligence directorate
14:45says that the country
14:45now has drones that
14:46can fly up to 3,500
14:48kilometers, which is
14:50deep enough to put
14:50Russia's far east in
14:51the firing line.
14:53Nowhere is safe in
14:54Russia anymore, and
14:55that will terrify
14:56Putin.
14:57He can't just attack
14:58Ukraine at range in
14:58the belief that there
14:59will be no reprisals.
15:00That's especially the
15:01case in the Baltic Sea.
15:03For years, Ukraine has
15:04focused its efforts on
15:05what is supposed to be
15:06Russia's naval
15:07advantage in the Black
15:08Sea.
15:08Ukraine succeeded.
15:10About a third of the
15:11Black Sea fleet has been
15:12taken out of commission,
15:13and the rest has sailed
15:14away to hidey holes,
15:15becoming a non-factor
15:16along the way.
15:17Now that the Black Sea is
15:18under control, the Baltic
15:19Sea is on the agenda.
15:20A new northern front has
15:22been opened hundreds of
15:23kilometers away from the
15:24front lines in Ukraine.
15:25Any Baltic fleet ships that
15:26enter port now do so
15:28knowing that there is a
15:28risk that Ukraine's drones
15:29will pay them a visit.
15:31Shadow fleet ships will
15:32face the same risk.
15:33Every time they try to
15:34fill up, they do so
15:35knowing the oil they
15:36carry may end up burning.
15:38Putin now has a Baltic
15:39Sea dilemma.
15:40The untouchable has
15:41become a target, and
15:42there's nothing that
15:43Putin can do about it
15:44other than try to build up
15:45more of the defenses that
15:46have just proven that they
15:47can't do a thing to stop
15:49Ukraine's drones.
15:50While the Boiki burns in
15:51St. Petersburg comes to
15:52grips with being in the
15:53firing line, Putin has
15:55even more issues in the
15:56Baltic region.
15:57Russia's president took
15:58things too far with his
15:59threat to the Baltic
16:00nations.
16:01Now, NATO is doing
16:02something massive on
16:03Russia's border in
16:04response.
16:04The Baltic defense line is
16:06getting stronger, and
16:07it's going to ruin Putin's
16:08future plans for an
16:09invasion of Europe.
16:10Find out how by
16:11watching our video.
16:12And if you enjoyed this
16:13video, make sure you
16:14subscribe to the
16:15military show to see
16:16more coverage of
16:17Ukraine's lethal
16:18deep-strike strategy.
16:19And thank you for
16:20watching.
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