The FSB of Russia’s border patrol vessel Izumrud, which eight years ago took part in the seizure of Ukrainian boats in the Kerch Strait, was sunk near Novorossiysk on July 14 by a Ukrainian naval drone.
According to the Ukrainian Navy Command, the vessel was sunk by the Sargan-3000 unmanned maritime complex. As a result of the strike, the ship sank, and there are casualties and wounded among crew members, the exact number of whom was not specified.
The Ukrainian Navy published a satellite image confirming the destruction of Izumrud at the berth, as well as photographs of the damaged vessel.
The destroyed vessel is a Project 22460 Okhotnik-class patrol border ship, designed for patrol operations and search-and-rescue missions, operated by Russia’s FSB Border Service.
This same vessel participated in the attack on Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait on November 25, 2018. According to the official Ukrainian Navy account, on that day three Ukrainian vessels — Berdyansk, Nikopol, and the tugboat Yany Kapu — were conducting a planned transit from Odesa to Mariupol, having notified the relevant authorities of their route in advance in accordance with international norms. However, a Russian tanker blocked the passage near the strait, after which forces of the Russian Navy and Coast Guard attacked the ships.
According to then-Commander of the Ukrainian Navy Ihor Voronchenko, the attack involved 2 ships and 2 boats of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as 6 boats of Russia’s Border Service, under the overall command of Vice Admiral Gennady Medvedev. As a result of the attack, 24 Ukrainian servicemen were taken prisoner.
The boats and tugboat remained in Russian hands for almost a year. In 2019, by order of the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the vessels were returned to Ukraine in a looted condition: the occupiers had dismantled all equipment from the ships, seized ammunition and documents, and whatever they did not steal they broke and smashed.
Sargan-3000 is a relatively new element of Ukraine’s naval drone arsenal. According to official data, it is a multi-purpose unmanned naval combat complex that has undergone testing and been accepted into service with the Ukrainian Navy, although detailed technical specifications — range, speed, warhead configuration — have not been officially disclosed.
The drone is designed as a carrier of guided munitions capable of striking a target and returning to base, and during operations it is connected to the Delta situational awareness system, which provides real-time target data, video feed, and telemetry transmission.
The attack on Izumrud was not the only naval operation that day: Ukrainian forces also destroyed a boat that was attempting to provide logistical support to the enemy at Tendra Spit.