Historical development: Ukraine begins using marine "drone carriers" that can strike Russian rear

On January 6, the Ukrainian military destroyed six Russian anti-aircraft systems in southern Ukraine, including two Pantsir-S1s, a BUK system, two S-300 air defense systems, and an OSA anti-aircraft missile system.

The footage of the Pantsir-S1's destruction in Skadovsk, located on the southern coast of Kherson region, deep behind Russian lines, shows that the Ukrainian Armed Forces used a marine "drone carrier" for the strike.

It is clear that the strike was carried out using an FPV drone. It would have been impossible to hit the Pantsir system in Skadovsk with such a drone from the ground due to the distance from the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the Dnipro River near Kherson, which is about 85 kilometers away. This indicates that the drone was launched from a marine "drone carrier".

Ukrainian Armed Forces officer Petro Shuklinov points out that it is a historic development as the role of kamikaze boats and air defense boats has now expanded to include a new type of the marine "drone carriers". This unmanned boat uses standard FPV drones, enabling strikes on distant Russian targets from the sea.

Journalist Vasyl Pekhno points out that the same type of weapon was used in yesterday's attack as in Ukraine’s December 2024 strike on the Boyko towers in the Black Sea. It appears that the marine "drone carriers" were being tested back then.

• Оn December 31, the Ukrainian HUR Group 13 special forces made history by successfully downing a Russian Mi-8 helicopter using a Magura V5 maritime strike drone.