Ukraine Drones Destroy Rare Su-33, Strike Novorossiysk — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces destroyed a rare Russian Su-33 carrier-based fighter, an Mi-8 helicopter, and two radar systems (a Kasta-2E2 and a 92N6) in a wide-ranging overnight operation around the Black Sea on September 9, per Commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi.
- Brovdi confirmed the same operation struck the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk, claiming damage to several military vessels including missile carriers, with NASA FIRMS data independently corroborating large-scale attacks on the port's oil infrastructure, air defenses, naval assets, and radar systems.
- The Su-33 is a twin-engine carrier-based air-superiority fighter developed from the Soviet Su-27; production ended decades ago, Russia maintains rather than replaces remaining airframes, and surviving aircraft have largely operated from land bases because the Admiral Kuznetsov has spent years in repairs.
- Ukrainian drones also struck 13 more vessels from Russia's shadow fleet in the Black Sea, bringing the total hit since July 6 to 282, according to Brovdi.
- The Unmanned Systems Forces struck 16,720 Russian targets between September 1 and 8, with personnel losses averaging 411 per day in September — a 16% increase over August's 355-per-day average — and Brovdi attributed the rise partly to Russian troop concentration in the Dobropillia sector of Donetsk Oblast.
- Earlier Russian air losses included two Su-35S fighter jets that collided mid-air in the Kursk region, killing one pilot, underscoring a pattern of attrition in Russia's combat aviation.
Why it matters: The Su-33 cannot be replaced — production ended decades ago — making each loss permanent, and striking Novorossiysk shows Ukraine can reach high-value Russian naval and oil infrastructure behind the front lines with drones alone. The parallel toll on Russia's shadow fleet (282 vessels hit since July 6) and 16,720 weekly targets struck illustrate a sustained campaign degrading both Moscow's sanctions-evasion capacity and front-line combat power, with Russia's concentration of troops at Dobropillia now driving higher daily casualty rates.
Ask SkimNews
