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Ukraine Reveals What Cleared the Way for the Novorossiysk Submarine Attack: Destroyed Russian Il-38N
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![Photo of Liubava Petriv]( "Photo of Liubava Petriv")
On December 23, The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) revealed previously undisclosed details of a complex special operation that led to the destruction of a Russian Varshavyanka-class submarine in the port of Novorossiysk.
A critical step in the mission, the SBU confirmed, was the elimination of a Russian Il-38N anti-submarine aircraft—Russia’s only such asset in the Black Sea region.
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The operation was carried out by officers of the 13th Main Directorate of the SBU’s Department of Military Counterintelligence. According to the agency, the Il-38N “Sea Dragon” aircraft was struck while stationed at the Yeysk airbase, prior to the main submarine attack.
The aircraft had posed a threat to Ukraine’s naval drone operations, specifically its submersible “Sub Sea Baby” platform.
The Il-38N is equipped for maritime reconnaissance, underwater target detection, and torpedo deployment. Its elimination removed a significant obstacle to the success of the underwater strike on the Russian submarine, allowing Ukraine’s naval drone to reach its target undetected.
The Ukrainian drone used in the attack on the aircraft featured a modern airburst warhead with over 2,000 downward-projecting fragments. The strike directly impacted the aircraft’s radar systems and engine compartment, rendering it inoperable.
Footage released by the SBU shows the precision and scale of the strike, highlighting what the agency described as the “real level of vulnerability” in Russia’s critical military infrastructure—vastly different from the image presented by the Russian Defense Ministry.
The SBU reiterated its intent to continue targeting legitimate military assets of the Russian Federation, stating it will strike “where the enemy least expects it.”
Earlier, Russian forces have blocked access to the Novorossiysk naval harbor following a Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) underwater drone strike on a Russian submarine.
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-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
