Russia has carried out a naval drone attack against Ukraine’s Simferopol reconnaissance ship in the Danube delta.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said the strike was carried out by naval drones believed to have been launched from occupied Crimea or pre-positioned at the mouth of the river. The ministry did not release further details on the number of drones involved or the exact location of the attack.
Ukraine’s Navy also confirmed the incident.
In a statement to Ukrinform, Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said: “Regarding information about the damage to one of the Ukrainian Navy ships: we confirm the fact of the strike on the ship. Elimination of the consequences of the attack is ongoing. Most of the crew is safe. The search for several sailors continues. Unfortunately, one crew member was killed and several were wounded.”
The Simferopol is a medium reconnaissance vessel of the Laguna class, a radio-electronic intelligence ship based on the 502EM trawler design. It was launched on April 23, 2019, and formally entered Ukrainian naval service in 2021. Its role is to monitor communications, track electronic signals, and support broader maritime reconnaissance operations in the Black Sea region.
The vessel has already survived combat damage in the ongoing war. In December 2024, the ship was struck by a Russian Iskander missile but managed to sail away despite heavy damage.
The strike on the Simferopol follows an intensification of Russian efforts to disrupt Ukrainian naval operations and reconnaissance capabilities. Naval drones offer Moscow a relatively low-cost means of conducting targeted strikes while minimizing risk to crewed warships, particularly as Russian naval assets remain under pressure from Ukrainian long-range drones and missile strikes.