Overview

• Ukraine’s navy said the Laguna-class reconnaissance ship Simferopol was struck by a naval drone in the Danube River delta, leaving one sailor dead, most of the crew accounted for, and searches underway for several missing.
• Russia’s Defense Ministry framed the attack as its first successful use of a sea drone against a Ukrainian vessel, and Russian state media published video purporting to show the explosion.
• The Simferopol, launched in 2019 and commissioned in 2021, is outfitted for radio, electronic, radar, and optical reconnaissance and carries a 30 mm AK-306 gun.
• The naval incident coincided with a large overnight drone-and-missile barrage on Kyiv that officials said killed at least 21 people and wounded 48, damaged scores of sites citywide, and prompted a UN Security Council meeting request.
• Ukrainian military intelligence said it damaged a small Russian missile ship in the Sea of Azov near Temryuk Bay, describing the vessel as withdrawing from its combat area.