On August 28, 2025, the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of Ukraine confirmed that its special operations forces carried out a coordinated drone attack against a Russian Project 21631 Buyan-M small missile ship.
The vessel, a known Kalibr cruise missile carrier, was operating near the Temryuk Bay area off the coast of temporarily occupied Crimea.
According to GUR, the operation involved a two-pronged strike. Operators from the special “Ghosts” unit targeted the ship’s radar system with an aerial drone, while another GUR team from the Department of Active Measures struck the hull of the Kalibr carrier.
As a result, the vessel sustained damage and was forced to withdraw from its combat station.
“The Russian missile ship, which was in a potential launch zone for Kalibrs in the Azov Sea, suffered damage and was compelled to leave its area of operation,” the agency reported.
The Buyan-M-class corvettes are among the platforms Russia uses to launch Kalibr cruise missiles against Ukrainian cities. Their presence in the Black and Azov Seas has enabled Russia to conduct repeated long-range strikes deep into Ukrainian territory. By disabling the vessel, Ukrainian forces temporarily reduced the threat of another Kalibr barrage.
The timing of the strike is notable. Just hours earlier, Russia launched one of its largest missile attacks in recent months against Kyiv, killing 1dozens civilians, including three children, and injuring dozens more. Ukrainian officials underscored the contrast: while Kyiv employs inexpensive, improvised drones to target Russia’s war-sustaining assets such as oil refineries and missile carriers, Moscow fires high-cost ballistic and cruise missiles worth hundreds of millions of dollars at residential neighborhoods.
The Ukrainian drone attack on the Buyan-M follows a series of successful strikes on Russian military infrastructure in occupied Crimea and the Black Sea. These operations, increasingly carried out by domestically produced and adapted drones, are seen by Kyiv as a way to offset Russia’s missile advantage and disrupt its ability to conduct large-scale bombardments.
The attack also demonstrates the growing sophistication of Ukraine’s drone warfare. By directly targeting a radar system and then striking the hull, GUR units showed an ability to neutralize critical capabilities of naval assets. While Russia has not publicly acknowledged the damage, open-source monitoring suggests the vessel is no longer on active patrol.
Ukraine’s campaign against Kalibr carriers is part of a wider strategy to degrade Russia’s ability to project power from the sea. Each disabled or withdrawn vessel reduces the number of cruise missiles Moscow can bring to bear against Ukrainian cities.