Ukrainian Military Claims Successful Attack on Russian Jet

The Ukrainian military intelligence agency has announced that it utilized missiles launched from a maritime drone to take down a Russian SU-30 fighter jet. This incident, shared on Saturday by Ukraine’s Defense Information (GUR), is being hailed as the first documented case of a manned fighter aircraft being shot down by a drone at sea.

The operation carried out by a special unit known as Group 13 occurred on Friday in the Black Sea, approximately 50 kilometers west of Novorosisk, a major Russian port. While Ukrainian authorities released video footage of the event, its authenticity has not been independently verified.

According to GUR, the operation was executed in coordination with the Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) and other military forces. They stated that the missile was launched from the Magra V5 Maritime drone platform.

The fighter jet destroyed in this operation, the Russian SU-30, is a twin-engine aircraft valued at around $50 million. Ukrainian officials claimed that the jet was “enveloped in the air before it hit the sea.”

So far, the Russian Ministry of Defense has not provided an official response. Meanwhile, following the incident, the mayor of Novorosisk declared a state of emergency due to damages resulting from the Ukrainian drone strike, which reportedly impacted a grain terminal and multiple residential buildings, injuring five people.

Shortly after this announcement, Russia responded with a drone attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Debris from an intercepted drone caused damage across at least two districts, igniting fires in residential areas and affecting parked vehicles.