Twenty-one Russian ships hit in 72 hours. That is the count Seatrade Maritime reported for a Ukrainian campaign across the Black Sea, which analysts are calling the most concentrated naval assault since the war began.
Not every target was a warship. Several were logistical and support vessels, the kind Russia relies on to resupply positions in Crimea and keep amphibious capability alive. Losing them costs Moscow more than the hulls themselves.
Drones first, missiles behind them
Most of the strikes came from Ukraine’s sea drones, including the Magura V5: uncrewed surface craft loaded with explosives that ride low on the water and are hard to stop in numbers. Kyiv has spent the war extending their range and sharpening their guidance. Neptune anti-ship missiles added long-range punch.
The pairing mattered. A crew fighting off one incoming drone has little left for a second or third arriving minutes later, and that is how Ukrainian forces got past Russian defenses in such a short window.
A shrinking fleet
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been falling back since the cruiser Moskva sank in April 2022. Further Ukrainian strikes drove much of it west, away from Ukrainian coastal waters. This latest campaign suggests Kyiv is now chasing those displaced ships instead of waiting for them to return.
At the start of the war the fleet counted roughly 40 combat-capable surface ships. Sea drone attacks, missile strikes and special operations have damaged or destroyed an estimated one-third of them.
The supply picture makes the losses sharper. The Kerch Bridge, already badly damaged by Ukrainian strikes, can no longer carry full supply loads to the peninsula, which leaves sea lanes as Russia’s main route in. Each ship removed narrows that route further. Russia now has to pull its remaining vessels back beyond drone range, which would mean giving up the sea, or keep them forward and keep taking losses.
Grain and cost
The economics favor Kyiv. Sea drones built in Ukraine cost a fraction of the ships they destroy. Russia’s fleet has also repeatedly threatened commercial shipping and used that threat to squeeze Ukrainian grain and commodity exports.
After Russia withdrew from the UN-brokered grain deal, Ukraine set up its own humanitarian shipping corridor in late 2023. It has stayed open largely because interdiction has become expensive for Russia.
Moscow has not confirmed the losses. Russian state media acknowledged “incidents” involving vessels but gave no details on how many were hit. Ukraine’s military has said that weakening Russian naval power is a strategic priority ahead of any future ceasefire talks, since control of Black Sea access will shape the country’s economic recovery for decades.
