On the night of September 10, a Ukrainian drone precisely struck a russian salvage ship of Project MPSV07 vessel near Novorossiysk. The video shows the strike hitting the vessel's reconnaissance equipment.
"At the time of the attack, the enemy ship was conducting electronic reconnaissance and patrolling the approaches to Novorossiysk Bay, where the aggressor keeps the remnants of its Black Sea Fleet," the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine emphasized in a statement.
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As noted, the strike destroyed reconnaissance equipment, and the ship will undergo costly repairs.
It should be noted that, besides successfully hitting the target, this also demonstrates another violation of the laws of war by the enemy. The MPSV07 is a multi-purpose rescue vessel and clearly marked for that purpose.
However, russians repurposed them into reconnaissance ships, disguising their role as "Rescuer." Their advanced diving and sonar systems indicate that sabotage of underwater objects may be another of their missions.
Disguising a military vessel as a rescue ship constitutes a violation of the law of war. If clarification is needed, this should be considered against the backdrop of the russians' methodical daily killings of civilians, torture, and execution of prisoners.
According to the maritime traffic monitoring service, Spasatel Ilyin may have been in the Novorossiysk area at the time. The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine noted that russians commissioned this ship in 2015, likely referring to Spasatel Demidov, which, according to maritime services, is currently near Murmansk.
russia currently operates five of these vessels, starting with Spasatel Karev, commissioned in 2012, and ending with Spasatel Ilyin, commissioned in 2023. There is information about the construction of another vessel, Spasatel Gruzinskiy, which was to be completed in 2024. However, there is no information about its commissioning.
It should be noted that this is not the first time Ukrainian kamikaze UAVs have hit a maritime target. In August, the same type of weapons struck the Buyan-M Kalibr carrier.
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