Newsweek reports that Ukraine’s latest strike on Russia’s naval forces in the Black Sea was inspired by World War II submarine tactics, according to one Ukrainian military expert, as the Kremlin counts the cost of yet surprise maritime attack.

Ivan Stupak, a former officer in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and now an adviser to the Ukrainian parliament’s national security, defense, and intelligence committee, told Newsweek on Wednesday that the overnight sinking of the Ropucha-class Caesar Kunikov landing ship took lessons from history.

“The ‘Wolfpack’—Wolfsrudeltaktik in German—was a tactic of the Second World War in the Atlantic Ocean, using a numerical advantage to launch a massive attack by submarines on an enemy ship,” Stupak explained.

“With the end of the Second World War, the use of ‘wolfpack’ tactics ceased. Russia’s full-scale invasion of 2022 provoked the emergence of a new Ukrainian tactic: ‘swarm of drones.'”

The BBC reports that powerful explosions were heard early on Wednesday, according to local social media, which suggested the landing ship was hit south of the town of Yalta. Ukraine’s intelligence directorate released video of what it said were Magura V5 sea drones striking the ship.

There was no confirmation from Russia’s navy that the Caesar Kunikov had been sunk in the Black Sea, merely that six Ukrainian drones had been destroyed. The Kremlin has also refused to comment on the incident.

Video appearing to show the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack was uploaded only recently, BBC Verify confirmed.
 
“The Caesar Kunikov suffered critical holes in its port side and began to sink,” Ukraine’s main intelligence directorate said on the Telegram messaging site, adding that it had been destroyed off the Crimean coastal town of Alupka in Ukrainian territorial waters by a unit called Group 13.

It said an operation to rescue up to 87 crew members had been “unsuccessful” and “according to available information, most were killed”.

The Magura V5 unmanned drones the directorate said were used in the attack are made in Ukraine and travel just above the sea surface at a speed up to 42 nautical miles an hour, their manufacturer says.

Amphibious ships are used to move assault troops to land quickly, especially in enemy territory, but the chances of them being used for this purpose in Ukraine are almost zero. Instead, they are being used to ferry military supplies, in effect as heavily armed transport ships.

Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov sunk off Crimea, says Ukraine

Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.