Ukrainian forces likely launched an attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Admiral Hryhorovych frigate near Sevastopol on Saturday using naval drones, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest analysis of the conflict in Ukraine.

According to analysts at the American think tank, footage on social networks documented an unknown number of unmanned surface vehicles striking at least one Admiral Grigorovich-type frigate in Sevastopol.

The images also show smoke near the port of Sevastopol and what appears to be Russian air defense in Sevastopol attacking air targets.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said that Ukrainian forces used seven autonomous maritime drones and nine unmanned aerial vehicles for “terrorist attacks” against the Russian fleet and civilian objects in Sevastopol.

Attacks on warships in wartime are legitimate acts of war, not terrorist attacks, the ISW said.

Ukraine has not taken responsibility for the drone attack in Sevastopol

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that the Russian forces destroyed all air and sea targets, and the damage to the ships of the Black Sea Fleet is currently unknown.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the attack caused minor damage to the minesweeper Ivan Golubets and a protective barrier in the southern bay, but did not acknowledge any damage to the Grigorovich-class frigate, just as Russian officials denied any damage to the cruiser. Moscow”. when Ukrainian troops sank it on April 14.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet claimed responsibility for the drone attack in Sevastopol.

How many frigates of the “Admiral Girhorovich” type does the Russian fleet have?

The Black Sea Fleet has three frigates of the Admiral Hryhorovych type, all of which are capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles.

Ukraine’s decision to target Caliber-capable frigates makes sense given Russia’s increased campaign of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, according to ISW.

If Kyiv had ordered the attack, it would have been a proportionate, even restrained, response to Russia’s broad campaign of strategic bombing that has struck civilian targets across Ukraine over the past few weeks, US analysts said.