Partisans Detect Russian Navy Special Purpose Boat in Sevastopol Bay

The Ukrainian partisan group Atesh identified the presence of a Russian Project 21980 special purpose boat “Grachonok” in the southern bay of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea. This boat is intended to prevent sabotage, special forces and weapons getting access to base areas.

Atesh indicated that Ukrainian naval drones should easily bypass such vessels.

“But if you look at how Ukrainian naval drones deftly bypass them, you can conclude that this type of boat was developed [only] for the purpose of money laundering,” the group wrote on Telegram on Thursday, April 4.

They also hinted that “probably the project's chief designer, Rechitsky, will have to answer a few questions to representatives of the competent authorities.”

It is less than a month since Ukrainian-made maritime drones destroyed another element of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Ukrainian MAGURA V5 maritime drones hit the Russian Project 22160 patrol ship Sergey Kotov, with a value of about $65 million, near the Kerch Strait on the night of March 5.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (HUR) was behind the successful March 5 special operation as well as a strike using MAGURA V5s to sink the large Russian amphibious assault ship Caesar Kunikov off the coast of Crimea on the morning of Feb 14.

“The Black Sea Fleet doesn't have much time left,” the Atesh guerrillas said.

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What is MAGURA V5?

The Ukrainian-developed MAGURA V5 unmanned surface vehicle can perform a variety of maritime operations, including surveillance, reconnaissance, patrol, and combat missions.

Thanks to the construction of its hydrodynamic hull and maneuverability, the V5 is extremely difficult to detect by electronic or visible means.

The sea drone is 5.5 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, has a cruising speed of 40 kph (25 mph), a maximum speed of 80 kph (50 mph), and a range of about 800 kilometers (500 miles).