Ukrainian missile strikes on Sevastopol were part of a larger operation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukrainian Navy that resulted in five Russian ships hitting mines, Militarnyi reported on 21 February. SBU Brigadier General Ivan Lukashevych, the mastermind behind the use of marine drones, revealed these details at the Defense Tech Innovation Forum 2025.
Sea Baby maritime drones, developed by SBU specialists, mined sea routes to Sevastopol Bay in occupied Crimea before Ukrainian missile strikes, causing some ships evacuated from the bay to hit mines.
“Together with the Defense Forces, we developed several operations during which my team mined the fairway of Sevastopol Bay, and the Navy attacked Russian ships with Storm Shadow cruise missiles. You all remember how a large landing ship and a Kilo-class submarine were destroyed,” Lykashevych said, referring to the 13 September 2023 attack on the large landing ship Minsk and Rostov-na-Donu submarine.
The general says that after the strike, the remaining Russian ships “rushed to flee to Novorossiysk (Russia’s post on the Black Sea’s eastern coast, – Ed.), but five of them didn’t make it, including two missile carriers and Pavel Derzhavin [patrol ship], hitting mines.”
“After this, they understood what Ukraine’s asymmetric response is like – we imposed our war on them. The Russians eventually managed to deactivate some of our mines and evacuate the remnants of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet,” Lukashevich said.
Militarnyi notes that in a video presentation, the brigadier general showed previously unreleased footage of a modified Sea Baby drone carrying two bottom mines that can be deployed from the vessel while in motion. By their distinctive design, these weapons can be identified as Italian 220-kilogram non-contact bottom mines MN103 Manta.
Sevastopol Bay mining operation
In June last year, The WSJ, citing SBU sources, detailed an operation where Sea Baby maritime drones deployed over 15 underwater mines in Crimean waters along routes used exclusively by Russian warships.
Following initial Sea Baby deployments, Russia reinforced barriers at Sevastopol Bay’s entrance, making drone attacks nearly impossible. In response, SBU specialists shifted to mining the bay’s approaches.
On 14 September 2023, after Storm Shadow missile strikes, the Russian missile ship Samum struck a mine. On 11 October, the patrol ship Pavel Derzhavin sustained damage while entering Sevastopol Bay for maintenance. Days later, the newest intelligence and hydrographic ship Vladimir Kozitsky was also damaged by an explosion, according to WSJ.
Related:
- WSJ: Ukraine’s Sea Baby drones strike 4 Russian ships with underwater mines
- As Russians catch up with naval drone tech, Ukraine is developing countermeasures
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- The Telegraph: Ukraine’s new $ 250,000 naval drone carriers strike Russians by sea and air
- Historic first: Ukrainian sea drone launches FPV strike on Russian coastal air defenses
- Occupied Crimea no longer viable for Russian military ship repairs, says Ukrainian Navy
- Defense Express: Modified Soviet-era missile enables maritime drone’s aerial capabilities
- Ukrainian sea drone downs Russian helicopter in historic first (video)