Ukrainian soldiers inspecting pieces of the Russian FAB-500 bomb dropped by plane, on a coast near Odessa, April 29, 2025. (Credit: Oleksandr Gimanoc/AFP.)
The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down a Russian fighter jet, a Sukhoi Su-30, with an R-73 anti-aircraft missile fired from a Magura naval drone in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian military intelligence service announced Saturday.
"This is the very first destruction of a combat aircraft by a naval drone," the Ukrainian defense minister was pleased to announce on social media. "The historic strike was carried out by warriors of the special unit of Group 13 of HUR using an R-73 missile launched from the unmanned Magura naval platform ... This is the very first destruction of a combat aircraft by a naval drone," he added.
"The strike took place in waters near the Russian port of Novorossiysk, where Russian forces are trying to hide the remains of their Black Sea fleet," Ukrainian authorities indicated.
The Russian fighter jet was reportedly neutralized Friday by a Ukrainian military intelligence unit, Group 13, according to a statement from Ukrainian authorities.
Outnumbered and facing a better-equipped Russian army, Ukraine has developed a strategy of aerial and maritime drones to counter Moscow since the beginning of the war. These devices, less costly and more discreet than traditional ships, have disrupted the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. Already in December 2024, Kiev had claimed the destruction of a Russian helicopter by a missile launched from a maritime drone.
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