Ukraine's military intelligence agency has claimed it has downed a Russian Su-30 fighter jet using a missile fired from a sea-based unmanned surface vessel. The incident, which Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (GUR) announced on Saturday, is being described by Kyiv as the world's first recorded instance of a manned combat aircraft being shot down by a maritime drone.
According to the Ukrainian government, the operation was carried out by a special GUR unit known as Group 13 on Friday in the Black Sea, approximately 50 kilometres west of the Russian port city of Novorossiisk. Ukrainian authorities released a video to accompany the announcement, though the authenticity of the footage has not been independently verified by NDTV.
In its statement, the GUR claimed that the operation was conducted in coordination with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and other units of the Ukrainian armed forces. The agency said the missile was launched from a Magura V5 maritime drone platform, a type of sea drone Ukraine has deployed increasingly in recent months.
The destroyed aircraft was identified as a Russian Su-30, a twin-engine fighter jet with an estimated market value of $50 million. Ukraine claimed that the aircraft was "engulfed in flames mid-air before crashing into the sea."
The Russian Defence Ministry has not issued a formal response.
Novorossiisk is a major commercial and military port for Russia on the Black Sea coast. Shortly afterwards, the city's mayor declared a state of emergency, citing damage from a Ukrainian drone attack that hit a grain terminal and several residential buildings. Local authorities reported that five people were injured in that incident.
Hours after the announcement, Russia launched an overnight drone attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Falling debris from intercepted drones caused damage in at least two districts of the city and sparked fires in residential buildings and parked vehicles.
