Ukraine’s domestic security service, the SBU, said Monday that it struck a Russian submarine in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, causing critical damage to the vessel and effectively disabling it.
In a statement, the SBU said the operation, which used underwater “Sub Sea Baby” drones, was the first attack of its kind. Video shared by the SBU showed a large explosion at a port.
“As a result of the explosion, the submarine suffered critical damage and was effectively put out of action,” the SBU said. CNN could not independently verify the claim.
Russia acknowledged the Ukrainian attack but said it failed and that no ships or submarines were damaged.
“The enemy’s attempt to carry out sabotage using an unmanned underwater vehicle failed to achieve its goals,” state media quoted Alexei Rulev, head of the Black Sea Fleet press service, as saying. Rulev denied Ukrainian reports that a submarine was destroyed at the Novorossiysk naval base, Russian media reported.
The Kilo-class submarine is used to launch Kalibr cruise missiles, firing up to four at a time, according to the SBU statement. Russia has used the missiles throughout the war to strike Ukraine.
The agency added that the submarine is known as a “Black Hole” because of the hull’s ability to absorb sound and remain undetectable by sonar. It said that class of submarine costs around $400 million. Due to international sanctions, which have hampered Russia’s access to technological components, building a similar submarine could now cost up to $500 million, the SBU said.
The SBU said the vessel had been forced to remain in the port of Novorossiysk due to past successes of Ukraine’s sea drone operations, which forced Moscow to move many of its ships and submarines from Sevastopol Bay in the occupied Crimean Peninsula.
