Ukrainian military intelligence said today that one of its sea drones shot down a Russian helicopter and damaged another over the Black Sea, Reuters reported.
Near Cape Tarkhankut on the western coast of Crimea, a "Magura B5" sea drone equipped with missiles today hit a Russian Mi-8 helicopter, the Ukrainian intelligence service said in a message on "Telegram".
According to the service, this is the first time a Ukrainian sea drone has shot down an air target. Reuters notes that it cannot independently confirm this information.
Russia has not commented on the report at this time.
The Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, wrote on Telegram that two naval drones were destroyed near the coast last night.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has increased its drone production and developed sea-based attack drones, Reuters notes.
The downing of a Russian helicopter by a Ukrainian sea drone was also reported by the well-known Russian military blog “Military Informer“.
Ukrainian intelligence said that a second enemy helicopter was damaged in the attack but managed to reach its airfield, the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported.
A poor-quality video released by Ukrainian intelligence shows a helicopter flying over the water and several shells flying at it. It then falls into the water. Reuters notes that it cannot confirm the authenticity of the video.
Kiev's armed forces have been using sea-based drones to strike Russian warships and facilities on the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.