Kyiv has shared new footage appearing to show Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets in the Black Sea, as tensions simmer in the region that is a frequent site of Ukrainian attacks on the Kremlin's navy.
Newsweek could not independently verify the veracity of this footage, nor the location and timing. The Russian Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment.
The Black Sea is a key battleground for Russian and Ukrainian forces. Russia has often launched strikes using missiles, such as its sea-launched Kalibrs, on Ukrainian cities from the Black Sea.
In recent months, Ukraine has made use of airborne and waterborne drones in the region to hit back at Russian targets, notably its Black Sea fleet bases at Sevastopol in Crimea and Novorossiysk on the Russian mainland.
Experts previously suggested to Newsweek that Russia would struggle to protect its infrastructure, such as long bridges linking the annexed peninsula of Crimea to mainland Ukraine and internationally recognized Russian territory, from the new naval drones Ukraine is now deploying. The uncrewed vehicles Kyiv is using are hard for Russian defenses to detect and may also be difficult for defenders to destroy.
"Such a naval fleet serves for conducting special operations, and for sure it has its role in the liberation of the temporarily occupied Black Sea coastal area," Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's vice prime-minister and head of Ukraine's drone development programs, previously told Newsweek. "A naval drone is a unique and classified Ukrainian development," he added.
Earlier this month, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said Ukraine's military was using naval drones to "set conditions for future decisive operations" in the Black Sea region.
Kyiv's armed forces are "now striking much deeper into Russian rear areas and incorporating maritime targets," the think tank added.
The Black Sea was also the focus of the now-expired deal that ensured the safe transport of Ukrainian grain to the rest of the world, which had staved off fears of a global shortage. Russia pulled out of the deal, which had been coordinated by the United Nations, in mid-July.
On Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had "opened warning fire" on a cargo ship in the Black Sea at around 6:40 a.m. Moscow time (11:40 p.m. ET), after the ship did not respond to a request to inspect its contents.
Ukraine had said on Thursday it would create a new "humanitarian corridor" to let trapped cargo ships out of Ukrainian ports.
