A crack Ukrainian drone team hunts Russian ships to isolate Crimea

Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion and occupation has a new front. These attack drones will soon be hunting Russian ships on the Black Sea, part of a widening campaign to isolate Crimea and weaken Moscow's war effort. In a field in southern Ukraine, more than 60 miles behind front lines, Ukrainian soldiers scrawl mocking messages on them. This team launched drones every couple of minutes during a recent visit by Reuters. They said drones struck a cargo vessel, a floating crane in the Black Sea, and a power substation in South Crimea. Reuters could not independently verify this. Units have hit more than 180 vessels and other seaborne targets over the past three weeks. The attacks, first in the Sea of Azov and now expanding into the Black Sea, are designed to raise the cost for Russia of occupying Crimea. Ukraine hopes to swing the initiative toward Kyiv in the fifth year of full-scale war. The annexed peninsula serves as a transit and military hub for Moscow's troops. Attacks on oil tankers, dry cargo ships and other vessels aim to pressure Russian forces by starving them of resources. Russia has responded with attacks on southern Ukraine and ports that send much of the country's grain through a maritime corridor to international markets. The commander of the battalion here, who goes by the callsign Ray, says they work day and night, every day without time off. His voice has been changed due to Ukrainian military authorities citing security concerns. War is a constant struggle with effectors and countermeasures. Of course, we understand that we are quite effectively hitting targets. We make the enemy feel pain and, accordingly, the enemy takes countermeasures. And we are a high-priority target. The squad move frequently as they are now a prized target for Russian drones. But they say beyond complicating Russian logistics, the campaign is boosting Ukrainian morale.