On Friday, August 22, 2025, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR MO) reported that five elite Russian combat divers were killed when a Ukrainian kamikaze-class unmanned surface vessel self-destructed during an attempted forcible capture.
Magura V5 / Illustrative Photo: HUR MO
According to the report, one of the Ukrainian naval strike drones, likely a Magura V5 from the Special Unit Group 13, managed to penetrate Novorossiysk Bay at the entrance to the naval port of Novorossiysk, where ships of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet are currently stationed.
As a result of effective electronic warfare (EW) conducted by Russian port defenses, the Ukrainian drone lost its link with the command center and began to drift. After some time, the local Russian command ordered the vehicle to be retrieved from the bay waters for inspection.
To carry out the task, a group of five elite combat divers from the so-called PDSS (Подводные диверсионные силы и средства, Underwater Sabotage Forces and Assets), Russia’s special underwater sabotage, reconnaissance, and counter-diversionary unit, was dispatched. These are highly trained specialists equipped with top-class gear, representing one of the most resource-intensive formations in the Russian Navy.
However, during the attempt to seize and disarm the drifting crewless boat, a programmed defensive mechanism was triggered, detonating the onboard warhead (the vehicle has a payload capacity of 300 kg). The powerful explosion killed all five divers.
According to HUR MO, reports from Novorossiysk indicate growing dissatisfaction among Black Sea Fleet personnel over what they described as a senseless order to recover the Ukrainian drone, which led to the death of the entire elite unit as if they were cannon fodder.
The Special Unit Group 13 operates uncrewed systems of the Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus V5 series, which measures 5.5 m in length and has a displacement of 1,000 kg. These were initially employed as kamikaze drones (successfully used against Russian warships), later adapted to carry two R-73 air-to-air missiles. The unit also fields multirole V6P drones and V7 air-defense drones, the latter armed with two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and a self-defense machine gun, measuring 7.2 m in length with a displacement of under 1,300 kg.
It is worth noting that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) operates multirole Sea Baby naval drones, and the kamikaze-type Marichka has also been developed.
A dramatic summer strike shook Novorossiysk as Ukraine's Defence Intelligence conducted a special operation in the Black Sea.
🔗: https://t.co/Pfg48f7QBu pic.twitter.com/OEfzebnBIV
— Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) August 22, 2025
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