How many ‘kamikaze’ boats Russian forces manage to intercept and why even 30% of damage is effective 

Almost a year ago, in September 2022, a mysterious ‘kamikaze’ boat was first spotted near Crimea - since then, Ukraine has repeatedly used this weapon to strike Russian ships and other targets, and surface drones have been proving effective on the battlefield, despite the fact that Russian occupiers still manage to destroy a significant number of these weapons.

This opinion was expressed by the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov in an interview with the Radio Liberty project "Crimea.Realities" - according to the head of the Defence Intelligence, ‘kamikaze’ boats have become an effective weapon of deterrence for the Russian fleet.

"Of course, it is impossible to attack using them. But paralysing the fleet's activities, which, in the end, has happened, has already been achieved. The ships do not go further than the Sevastopol raid in the northern direction," the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said.

Budanov admits that the Russian forces do manage to destroy a significant number of surface ‘kamikaze’ drones - about 60-70% - but at the same time, the 30% that reach their targets pose a problem for invading Russian forces.

Moreover, even destroyed drones can cause damage to a ship if enemy weapons "get" them in close proximity to the vessel - as an example, Budanov recalls the damage to a Russian frigate in Sevastopol bay, when a blast wave damaged the ship's electronic and other equipment, after which it was repaired for three and a half months.

Budanov did not disclose how many ‘kamikaze’ boats Ukraine produces and how many of them have already been used in attacks on the Russian forces, but said that it was not a garage production, but "normal serial production".

In recent months, successful strikes by Ukrainian ‘kamikaze’ boats have resulted in the destruction of the Russian large amphibious assault ship Olenegorskiy Gornyak, the SIG tanker, and a successful attack on the Crimean bridge - and even these three results have already fully "paid for" the use of ‘kamikaze’ drones.