Russia seen towing ships likely damaged by sea drones

 WarZone:

Claims of new successful drone attacks on Russian warships of the Black Sea Fleet remain unconfirmed as of Saturday, though two ships in question were seen under tow in Sevastopol.

Observers quickly noticed the appearance of Russian Project 1239 Bora-class missile corvette Samum under tow in Sevastopol after a Ukrainian “Sea Baby” uncrewed surface vessel attack Thursday outside Sevastopol. A picture appears to show the hovercraft's stern sitting low in the water with tow boats connected to bow and stern lines, though obvious evidence of damage remains unseen.

https://twitter.com/CovertShores/status/1702956427168428385

Satellite imagery also captured the Black Sea Fleet flagship Admiral Makarov, a Project 11356R Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate, under tow in Sevastopol harbor on Saturday. The image shows what appears to be smoke from the ship’s funnel and again lacks clear evidence of damage from an attack.

https://twitter.com/Flash_news_ua/status/1703051834141688236

Ships in a large, dispersed naval base like Sevastopol are commonly towed from one mooring to another. So the ships' appearance with towboats does not conclusively indicate they’ve suffered damage. Conflicting reports say Makarov, once claimed sunk by Ukrainian anti-ship missiles in the Black Sea and later damaged in a mass USV attack on Sevastopol in October, was damaged in the missile strike on the shipyard drydock September 13.

However, two ships in particular remain unseen after a reported Ukrainian attack on September 14, the two Project 22160 patrol ships Vasily Bykov and Sergei Kotov. Ukraine released video of the claimed attack in the Black Sea using USVs. It appears neither ship has returned to port in the Black Sea as of Saturday.

https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1702384677460250659?s=20

Exactly where the September 14 attack took place remains unclear, though the Bykov in particular operated far from occupied Crimea near the Romanian coast when it boarded the Palau-flagged freighter Sukru Okan in August.

A Ukrainian naval source told The War Zone on Saturday that the Bykov, previously claimed damaged off Odesa early in the war, was struck below the waterline and flooding. The source also said the attack destroyed the Tor SAM system parked on the ship’s flight deck for additional point defense. The Kotov was also reportedly holed above the waterline according to the source. We could not independently confirm these claims at this time.
...

The  ISW also reports: 

...

A Ukrainian naval drone strike likely damaged a Russian ship in the Black Sea on September 14. Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda published a photo reportedly from a source within the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) that indicates that Ukrainian naval drones struck and damaged a Russian Bora-class corvette near the entrance to Sevastopol Bay in occupied Crimea on September 14.[19] Ukrainian Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated on September 16 that Ukraine will conduct more drone attacks on Russian ships in the future.[20] Ukrainian Southern Operational Command Spokesperson Captain First Rank Nataliya Humenyuk stated that Russian ships do not stay at their bases but are constantly moving between naval bases in Russia and occupied Crimea to avoid strikes against them.[21] Russian forces have previously used large ships in the Black Sea to mitigate the damage that Ukrainian strikes have inflicted on other Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in southern Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces are likely targeting Russian ships in the Black Sea to further damage Russia’s ability to mitigate ongoing logistics complications among other things.[22]
...

This is another example of how Ukraine is using drones to inflict costly damage on Russian naval assets.  The use of the sea drones is a new addition to naval operations and one that allows Ukraine to leverage attacks without suffering casualties of its own. It is similar to the operations of drones used to attack Russian large planes.

See, also:

Russians move three landing ships from Black Sea to Sea of Azov – Ukrainian Navy spokesman

And:

 National Guardsman describes Russians abandoning everything, including their dead, during Kharkiv Oblast counteroffensive

And:

 Russia already spent over US$167 billion on war against Ukraine – Forbes

And:

 Liberation of Andriivka: 3rd Brigade's assault troops release unique GoPro footage

And:

 Ukraine liberates Andriyivka, inflicts heavy casualties on Russia’s 72nd Motorized Brigade

And:

 Russia is making a 'very costly' tactical mistake that means its second line of defense will be easier to penetrate, analysts say

And:

 Russians open fire on their own soldiers in Donetsk Oblast – video

And:

 How the defence industry is developing ‘£100 solutions for £100m threats’