Ukrainian drone attack near Taganrog is important, despite only tugboat, barge were targeted

Ukrainian Defense Express media outlet points out that it is not worth paying much attention to the target, but rather to the historical nature of this attack. It was the first time in the full-scale war that Ukrainian drones hit a Russian target in the Sea of Azov. This also means a significant increase in the long-range strike capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

To begin with, in order to strike near Taganrog, Ukrainian drones had to bypass the very dense air defense system of the Russian forces in the frontline zone, which they managed to do. Particularly interesting is the size of the targets that were allegedly hit during this attack.

The tugboat Engineer Smirnov belongs to the 81200 project and has a hull length and width of 31.4 meters and 10.2 meters respectively, the barge Section-179 - belongs to the P-156 project, with a hull length and beam of 114.5 meters and 14.07 meters respectively.

In other words, these affected vessels have the same size as the Russian Black Sea Fleet ships that entered the Azov Sea under the guise of "not an escape, but an exercise". That is, after the barge and tug, the next target could be something more powerful, and from the Black Sea Fleet.

Photo: Russian ships entering the Sea of Azov, June 6, 2024

Another intriguing and at the same time mysterious story is how this hit could have happened. One version is that Ukrainian engineers have managed to create a telecontrol system for long-range UAVs that allows them to transmit images in real time and guide them to the target accordingly. If this is the case, it means that the attack on the barge and tugboat was only the first step in the development of this technology for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The option of a possible "coordinate strike" should not be dismissed either. After all, there is a precedent, for example, that the first test of the Shahed-136 in real combat conditions took place in 2019 with a strike on a surface target (an Israeli tanker).

But even if only the second version is confirmed, it still means the possible beginning of systematic terror, which will now be felt by Russian forces in the Sea of Azov.

Photo: Taganrog seaport, illustrative photo from open sources