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Ukraine’s security service has revealed new details about how it pulled off its strike on a Russian sub.
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The SBU said it first attacked Russia’s only anti-submarine aircraft in the nearby region.
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The agency said it used a drone that carried a warhead capable of dispersing 2,000 fragments.
Ukraine shared new details on Tuesday about a precursor mission to its first underwater drone strike against a Russian submarine, showing how its forces laid the groundwork for its main attack.
The Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, released a video on Tuesday that it said first struck an Il-38N reconnaissance aircraft, also known as a Sea Dragon, using an aerial drone carrying an airburst warhead.
The security agency published footage of a drone flying close to a Sea Dragon on its runway, saying it was carrying an explosive warhead that would scatter more than 2,000 fragments at its target.
“The detonation occurred directly on the compartment containing the main equipment and the radars and also damaged the engine,” the SBU said.
Business Insider could not independently verify the time or location of the filming. The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The SBU said disabling the aircraft was a key step in advance of the next major strike on the Russian submarine.
The Sea Dragon, which is designed to detect underwater threats, was “actively countering SBU maritime drone operations,” the security service said.
“In the Black Sea, the Russians had only one aircraft of this class capable of detecting the underwater drone ‘Sub Sea Baby’ as it moved towards its target,” added the SBU.
The SBU said the attack took place at the Yeysk airbase.
Yeysk sits on the eastern side of the Sea of Azov around the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, and is approximately 140 miles from the port of Novorossiysk.
Russia bases most of its naval assets in this Black Sea port, which is also where the SBU said earlier this month that it attacked a Russian Kilo-class submarine with a Sub Sea Baby.
The drone is a version of the Sea Baby unmanned surface vessel – which is equipped with an explosive warhead and designed to track its target – which is modified to operate underwater.
The SBU has released footage of an explosion near a pier in the port of Novorossiysk, although it is unclear when this footage was filmed.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet denied the attack caused significant damage to the Kilo-class sub.
The diesel-electric boat, estimated by Ukraine to cost $400 million, is designed to carry up to four Kalibr cruise missiles. This type of precision missile is often compared to the US Tomahawk and has been regularly used by Russia to attack Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine has no official navy of its own, but has used drones and missiles to disrupt and, at times, drive out Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
The SBU had previously said that the attacked Kilo-class submarine was in Novorossiysk after withdrawing from Crimea due to attacks from Ukraine.
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