Ukrainian Sea Drone Strikes and Sinks Russian Patrol Boat Near Putin's Villa

▲ The Russian patrol boat Emerald shortly after being struck, as released by the Ukrainian Navy

Ukrainian authorities announced that a Ukrainian sea drone attacked and sank a Russian patrol boat docked along the Black Sea coast on July 14, local time.

The Ukrainian Navy stated via social media, including Facebook, that a domestically produced Sargan-3000 sea drone struck the patrol boat Emerald, which was docked in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Gelendzhik, resulting in casualties among the crew.

The Ukrainian Navy also released satellite imagery of the damaged Emerald, showing the vessel's hull split in two.

The Emerald, a patrol boat approximately 61 meters in length equipped with a helicopter landing pad, had been operated by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), according to the Ukrainian Navy.

The FSB is known as a key Russian security organization that plays a leading role in border patrols and the suppression and elimination of opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian authorities stated that the Emerald was involved in the attack on Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait on November 25, 2018.

The Kerch Strait is a narrow waterway located between the Russian mainland and the Crimean Peninsula, which was forcibly annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Ukraine has previously used sea drones to attack the Russian bridge in the Kerch Strait and Russian warships in the port of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula.

The U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal reported that Gelendzhik, the Black Sea coastal city where the Emerald was docked, is located approximately 24 kilometers away from a luxury mansion known to be associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Alexei Navalny (who died in 2024), a prominent anti-Putin activist in Russia, claimed in a video released in 2021 that the heavily guarded mansion was a facility built for Putin with funds provided by business figures.

The Wall Street Journal assessed that this attack is a recent example demonstrating the significant role Ukrainian sea drones have played in expanding their dominance in the Black Sea.

(Photo: Ukrainian Navy X account, Yonhap News)

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