Ukraine conducted three successful strike operations against russian Black Sea Fleet ports in April 2026. On April 5, Ukraine conducted one-way unmanned aerial system (UAS) attack against the port of Novorossiysk, the Black Sea Fleet's current home port.
The Admiral Grigorovich-class Admiral Makarov frigate, one of five surface combatants capable of firing Kalibr cruise missiles, was hit. As a result, there is a realistic possibility that inspection and maintenance activity temporarily prevented the vessel from conducting Kalibr strikes against Ukraine, the UK Defence Intelligence reports.
Read more: UK Defence Intelligence Reveals Kremlin Cuts Mobile Internet to Counter Ukrainian Drones
On April 18-19, Ukrainian forces struck up to three Black Sea Fleet vessels in Sevastopol port using one-way UAS, including the Ropucha-class Yamal, the Alligator-class Nikolai Filchenkov, and an unspecified Grachonok-class patrol craft.
On April 25-26, Ukraine launched another large-scale UAS attack on Sevastopol again targeting russian Yamal and Nikolai Filchenkov frigates, and also the Ivan Khurs intelligence vessel.
Whilst the Black Sea Fleet can continue to conduct Kalibr missile strikes against Ukraine, Ukrainian UAS strikes continue to degrade overall russian maritime operations in the Black Sea. As a result, the Black Sea Fleet can no longer project power and navigate in the western parts of the Black Sea. The successful attacks against Novorossiysk and Sevastopol have almost certainly caused reputational damage to the Black Sea Fleet and further decreased russian risk appetite.
As Defense Express previously reported, British jets continue defensive missions while missile systems and maritime monitoring reinforce regional security.
Read more: UK Defence Intelligence: UK Hits 2,400 Flight Hours, Maintains Air Patrols, Missile Defenses, and UKMTO Alerts
