"Docked and bombed, at sea and attacked"
On September 10, the Ukrainian Navy reported that it had used drones and "Neptune" missiles to strike Russian naval vessels at the Novorossiysk port. Satellite imagery shows damage to the "Bulldog-M" small missile corvette and the frigate Admiral Essen, with the similarly configured Admiral Makarov likely also sustaining damage.
All of these vessels are capable of carrying Kalibr cruise missiles, which explains Ukraine's strong motivation to destroy them: both the Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov each carry eight-cell vertical launch systems for cruise missiles, making them the absolute core of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in conducting long-range strikes on Ukrainian deep targets using the Kalibr missile system.
The Ukrainian forces first deployed a large number of drones to exhaust Russian port air defenses and blind their radar systems. Once the air defense network developed vulnerabilities, improved long-range Neptune anti-ship missiles—equipped with a 260-kilogram semi-armored high-explosive warhead—performed low-level, sea-skimming penetration attacks, delivering precise strikes against high-value targets.
Compared to drones, which can only conduct "surgical strikes" by damaging antennas and radars, the Neptune missile’s delayed fuze detonates inside the ship’s hull, tearing open compartments and triggering explosions of ammunition and fuel—inflicting devastating, potentially fatal damage to warships.
Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels are now trapped in a deadly cycle: staying in port invites saturation attacks from Ukrainian drones and missiles; venturing out to sea exposes them to ambushes from Ukrainian unmanned boats and anti-ship missiles.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875966593981440/
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