Ukrainian Drones Strike Russian Warships at Kronstadt Naval Base Near St. Petersburg

Ukraine struck Russian naval targets at the Kronstadt base near St. Petersburg, including the Russian corvette Boiky, which was reportedly hit while standing in dry dock more than 1,100 kilometers from Ukraine, according to footage released by the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, on June 3.

The strike on Kronstadt may be even more significant than the hit on the Petersburg Oil Terminal, Defense Express reported, because the base is one of the key sites of Russia’s Baltic Fleet and an important naval repair hub.

Ukraine’s General Staff later said that, according to preliminary information, ships and infrastructure facilities in the port of Kronstadt had been hit.

The corvette Boiky is a Project 20380 multipurpose warship of Russia’s Baltic Fleet. It entered service in 2013 and is designed for coastal defense, anti-ship operations, anti-submarine missions, and air defense. The vessel has a displacement of around 2,220 tons, a length of 104.5 meters, a crew of about 100 people, and a top speed of up to 27 knots.

Its armament includes a 100mm A-190 naval gun, Uran anti-ship missiles, the Redut air defense system, the Paket-NK anti-submarine system, and a Ka-27 helicopter carried in a hangar.

The strike targeted the Kronstadt naval base, located about 20 kilometers from St. Petersburg. Kronstadt is one of the two main bases of Russia’s Baltic Fleet and has long served as a historic naval stronghold.

Defense Express noted that available footage does not yet allow a full assessment of the damage, but the concentration of military targets on the island is substantial.

One of the most important facilities is the Kronstadt Marine Plant, a key site for repairing and modernizing Russian Navy ships, not only those assigned to the Baltic Fleet.

In 2023, the facility began repair and modernization work on the Project 20380 corvette Steregushchy. The plant has also handled complex repairs of Project 636.3 Varshavyanka-class submarines, including submarines from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Even low-quality satellite imagery available before the strike, dated May 25, showed a vessel around 100 meters long in dry dock, matching the dimensions of a Project 20380 corvette. A larger vessel about 120 meters long, roughly corresponding to a frigate-class ship, was also visible near the plant’s quay.

Kronstadt is also a permanent basing site for the Russian Baltic Fleet. It hosts the 3rd Separate Submarine Division and the 105th Brigade of ships responsible for protecting the water area. Ships previously based at Baltiysk in Russia’s Kaliningrad region may also have been present there.

According to Telegraf, Kronstadt usually hosts around 20 to 25 combat ships and boats, along with several dozen auxiliary support vessels. While the Baltic Fleet’s largest strike assets are based in Baltiysk, Kronstadt remains a major hub for coastal defense, ship repair, and naval training.

Denys Shtilerman, co-founder and chief designer of Fire Point, wrote that Ukrainian forces had “very much wanted to organize an excursion for guests to the cruiser Moskva, but unfortunately, we could not bring it there, so we had to minus two other ships already at the venue.”

The Kronstadt strike is part of Ukraine’s expanding long-range campaign against Russian military, naval, and energy infrastructure deep inside Russia.

If confirmed, damage to Boiky or other ships at the base would show that Ukraine is now able to threaten not only oil terminals near St. Petersburg, but also Russia’s Baltic Fleet repair and basing infrastructure far from the front line.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces struck the Russian frigate Admiral Essen at Novorossiysk, marking the fourth reported Ukrainian drone attack on the warship since early March.

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