Naval Drone Wipes Out Entire Crew of Russian Patrol Boat “Sobol”

The entire crew of the Russian FSB Border Service’s PSKA-300-class patrol boat “Sobol” was killed as a result of a strike by a Ukrainian naval drone.

The attack took place on April 30 during the deployment of naval drones near the Kerch Bridge.

The Telegram channel “VChK-OGPU” published a photo of a memorial plaque listing the names of those killed.

Eight crew members were killed:

• Podoroga Mykyta Sergeevich , born April 4, 1998, Senior Lieutenant
• Kovtunov Andrey Olegovich, born February 14, 1991, Midshipman
• Zair Kamilovich Akhmedov, born May 21, 1984, senior midshipman
• Vasyl Yurievich Makhovsky, born April 17, 1986, midshipman
• Yuriy Yurievich Balukh, born March 5, 1988, midshipman
• Vladislav Ivanovich Guskin, born July 20, 1998, senior petty officer
• Artem Nikolaevich Sheverdinov, born August 21, 1989, senior petty officer
• Alexander Vladimirovich Sityukov, born July 18, 1993, petty officer

The report notes that they were part of the crew of the PSKA-300-class patrol boat “Sobol” (in the text on the plaque, the names PSKA-300 and PSKR-300 were mistakenly mixed up – ed.).

On the night of April 30, the Ukrainian Navy struck two Russian patrol boats guarding the Kerch Bridge.

The Navy then confirmed that one of them was indeed the FSB’s “Sobol” boat, while the second vessel struck was a “Grachonok”-class boat, whose crew also perished.

These very boats were responsible for securing the waters around the illegally constructed bridge connecting the temporarily occupied Crimea with Russian territory.

The Project 12200 “Sobol” high-speed patrol boat was developed by the Almaz Design Bureau to intercept violators and protect territorial waters in the coastal zone.

To achieve speeds of up to 48 knots, the boat is equipped with an automated interceptor system that dynamically adjusts the vessel’s trim.

Armament includes a 14.5-mm machine gun mount, and the fuel supply ensures a three-day operational range. The Russian FSB had 11 such boats in the Black Sea-Azov Sea waters.

Recently, Ukrainian maritime drones also struck two tankers belonging to the Russian shadow oil fleet in the waters at the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk.