Video: Ukraine Uses Drone Boats To Hit Russian Military Targets In Crimea

Ukraine has launched a large-scale drone attack on Russian-occupied Crimea, hitting multiple military targets, including radar and air defence system, a helicopter, and a tugboat that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

The attack was reportedly carried out using first-person view (FPV) drones, with analysts suggesting that these drones were likely launched from uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), also known as drone boats.

According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR), the attack targeted nearly two dozen Russian military sites in Crimea.

The radar and air defence systems hit include Kasta-2E2, Nebo-M, Podlet, Niobium-SV, 9S19 “Ginger”, Sky-SV, Mys, 59H6-E “Protivnik-GE,” and ST-68.

The drones struck an S-300VM surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, an S-300SV SAM launcher, and three Pantsir-S1 SAM systems. The Fyodor Uryupin universal tug, a Project S4236 transport ship and a Mi-8 Hip helicopter were also targeted.

GUR released a three-minute video compilation showing FPV drones hitting the Russian targets. While Ukraine claims the strikes damaged or destroyed these systems, the video does not show the aftermath, making it difficult to independently verify the extent of the destruction.

Rumble in Crimea: enemy air defense systems, ships, and helicopters under attack
For several days, the invaders in the temporarily occupied Crimea have been trembling from an unprecedented roar – their expensive air defense systems were helpless against the accurate DIU’s strikes pic.twitter.com/LexviAbcDl

— Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) March 20, 2025

One of the notable attacks was on the Fedor Uryupin, a tugboat originally built in 2010 and operated by Ukraine’s state-run oil and gas company Chornomornaftogaz before Russia took control of it during the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The attack on the vessel was first reported by the partisan group Crimean Wind in December 2024, which stated that the drone hit the Uryupin above the waterline, causing damage but not sinking it.

The newly released video shows the drone closing in on the tugboat before the footage cuts out- typical for FPV drone strike recordings.

Open source analyst Oliver Alexander and other military researchers have assessed that the attacks likely originated from drone boats launching FPV drones.

This theory is based on the distance between Crimea and Ukraine’s front lines, which makes direct FPV drone operations difficult without an intermediate launch platform.

If confirmed, this would be Ukraine’s largest use of FPV drone-launching drone boats to date. The tactic was first observed in January 2024, when FPV drones launched from uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) attacked two Russian Pantsir-S1 systems and one Osa system in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region.

Military analysts have stated that FPV drones launched from drone boats offer a major advantage -they extend Ukraine’s attack range and allow strikes on heavily fortified targets that would otherwise require expensive long-range missiles.

The drones are also difficult to intercept, as Russian air defence systems are primarily designed to counter larger aerial threats rather than small, fast-moving drones.

Residents in Crimea reported hearing repeated explosions over several days. Ukrainian officials stated that Russian air defence systems failed to prevent many of the attacks.

GUR described the situation as an “unprecedented rumble” in Crimea, that the Russian military was unable to protect its strategic assets from the well-coordinated drone assault.

The Ukrainian military has increasingly relied on drone warfare to target both military installations and energy infrastructure deep inside Russian-controlled territory.

Reference: TWZ

Source: Maritime Shipping News