The issue is not only that it is necessary to reach the Volga River delta, nor in the size of the combat units needed to sink a 123-meter-long ship," writes Defense Express in a publication about another successful strike by the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (SOF of the Armed Forces of Ukraine).
In their latest attack, the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that they had destroyed the dry cargo ship "Port Olya-4", which regularly made voyages from Iran to Russia via the Caspian Sea and was transporting ready-made Shahed-136 drones, components for their production in Russia, ammunition and other weapons from Iran.
General Staff of Ukraine: Ukrainian Armed Forces hit the port of "Olya", a ship with Iranian equipment was hit
This ship belongs to the "MG-Flot" shipping company, which has been engaged in the transportation of Russian military cargo since 2021. Since the beginning of active Russian-Iranian cooperation, this ship has been sailing constantly, usually on the route between the Iranian port of Amirabad and the Russian port of Port Olya, south of Astrakhan, in the Volga Delta.
The available photos show that at the time of the strike the ship was on the shore of the anchorage. It is clearly visible that the bridge was completely burned out, and the ship itself was partially sunk.
And until recently "Port Olya-4" looked like this:
As reported by the Ukrainian Navy, this time the "ship "Port Olya 4" was loaded with components for Shahed UAVs and ammunition from Iran. What exactly was used to strike is not reported, but it is obvious that we are talking about long-range drones, the Ukrainian Air Force indicated earlier.
At the same time, the defeat, and even more so the destruction of the ship with the help of UAVs, is a rather non-trivial task.
First, this ship must be tracked. According to data from the maritime traffic tracking services, on August 1, "Port Olya 4" was located off the coast of Iran, and on August 12, it was spotted passing Azerbaijan in the area of the border with Russia. And we must recall that Russian ships simply turn off their transponders, writes the Ukrainian media.
After it was confirmed that the ship was in a Russian port, Ukrainian drones with a long range were launched, which traveled at least 850 km, flying over the front line, captured territories and several regions of the Russian Federation. And after reaching Port Olya, they must attack a specific ship.
In addition, the ship is not a stationary target, even if it is at anchor. That is, the drones must have homing devices. And also appropriate dimensions of the warheads, which would allow them to sink a ship with a tonnage of almost 5,000 tons and a length of 123 meters. That is, this is a task with "five stars".