Russian fighter jets open fire, blow up Ukrainian suicide boat near Crimea

The Russian Defense Ministry released a video on November 25 showing Sukhoi Su-30SM and Sukhoi Su-24M aircraft patrolling waters off the coast of Crimea and destroying Ukrainian unmanned boats.

The Black Sea Fleet's Information Support Department announced that the mission of the Su-30SM and Su-24M was to identify targets and destroy Ukrainian unmanned boats and high-speed ships.

Russian fighter jets opened fire, destroying a Ukrainian suicide boat near Crimea (Source: Sputnik).

The destroyed Ukrainian speedboat, identified by the Russian military as a US-made Willard Sea Force, was carrying a group of Ukrainian landing troops.

The Russian military did not provide specific information about the drones, but said it had destroyed seven surface drones.

The Su-30SM is a Russian multirole fighter aircraft, capable of engaging in air-to-air or air-to-ground attacks.

The Su-30SM is designed to have two seats for pilots and can carry up to nearly 8 tons of weapons, including many types of bombs as well as air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles. In addition, the Su-30SM is also equipped with a 30mm caliber aircraft gun with 150 rounds of ammunition.

The Su-30SM uses two Saturn AL-31 engines with a thrust of about 12 tons and reaches a maximum speed of Mach 2.

The Sukhoi Su-24 is a two-seat tactical bomber that can operate in all weather conditions, day or night. It was developed by Russia to counter the American F-111 "swing-wing" multirole fighter.

The Russian Su-24 is 24m long and can reach a speed of 1,700km/h. Depending on the mission, speed and payload, the effective operating range of the Su-24M ranges from 600-1,200km.

Tiêm kích Nga khai hỏa, bắn nổ xuồng tự sát Ukraine gần Crimea - 1 — Crimea peninsula in southern Ukraine (Photo: BBC).

Ukraine has repeatedly attacked the Crimean peninsula with unmanned boats at sea, targeting port infrastructure and military ships stationed on the peninsula.

Ukraine said the drone attacks helped Kiev regain the initiative in the Black Sea, forcing the Russian warship fleet to retreat.

Ukrainian special forces have also carried out several landing operations on the peninsula by sea, but not all of them were successful.

The Crimean Peninsula, home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has been repeatedly attacked by drones, suicide boats and missiles. Russia has also repeatedly announced that it is blocking Ukrainian reconnaissance groups from attempting to raid Crimea by speedboat or jet ski.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 after a controversial referendum. According to analysts, cutting off the corridor connecting Crimea to mainland Russia is one of Ukraine's main goals in the counter-offensive that has been going on since June. However, some experts say Kiev will find it difficult to achieve this goal this year.

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