The reason why Russian warships were powerless against Ukrainian suicide boats.

Russian warship sailors spotted a Ukrainian suicide boat and attempted to shoot it down, but were powerless against a well-coordinated Ukrainian attack.

Videos released last week by Russian Telegram channels showed sailors on the landing ship Cesar Kunikov of the Russian Black Sea Fleet using searchlights to scan the sea surface when they spotted a Ukrainian MAGURA V5 suicide boat approaching at night.

Russian sailors continuously fired machine guns and infantry rifles at the suicide boat as it maneuvered away to find a suitable angle of attack. But this was just one of many MAGURA V5 boats deployed by Ukraine in a coordinated attack.

"The crew tried to repel the Ukrainian navy's suicide boat attack with all available means during a 20-minute battle. Of the 10 suicide boats, the first four were destroyed. The fifth rammed into the stern, rendering the warship immobile," a Russian Telegram channel reported.

After the Cesar Kunikov ceased movement, Ukrainian suicide boats continued to ram the rear half of the warship on its port side in an attempt to capsize it. The ninth boat crashed into a hole in the hull and nearly exploded inside.

Ukrainian suicide boats attack Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov.

Ukrainian suicide boats attack the Russian landing ship Cesar Kunikov in a video released on March 6. Video: Fighter Bomber

"There is no way to save the ship that is listing to port," Fighter Bomber, account A Telegram account from a Russian fighter pilot stated: "From the moment the Ukrainian suicide boat was spotted until the warship was completely submerged, more than 40 minutes elapsed. The crew escaped the warship in lifeboats, without any casualties, taking with them all classified documents and some sensitive equipment."

The tenth Ukrainian suicide boat, positioned in the distance, tracked the sinking warship Cesar Kunikov, then attempted to attack the accompanying tugboat but was shot down by its crew.

The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) previously released a video showing several of its suicide boats speeding towards a Russian warship. The video also showed the ship's command center engulfed in flames, along with several machine gun fire trails from the Russian warship as the suicide boats approached.

"The video shows how well-planned and coordinated these attacks were. Ukraine used a suicide boat as bait to distract the Russian crew, while several others continuously targeted weak points on the ship's hull," TWZ editor Thomas Newdick assessed.

Ukraine employs suicide boat tactics to surround and attack Russian warships.

Ukrainian suicide boats approach the Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov on February 14. Video: Ukrainian Ministry of Defence

According to Newdick, the sinking of the Caesar Kunikov shows how vulnerable the Russian Black Sea Fleet "continues to be to Ukrainian attacks, especially those involving suicide boats."

This coordinated tactic also appears to have been used by Ukraine in the February 6 attack, which severely damaged and sank the patrol boat Sergey Kotov. Video released by Russian media shows the crew of the Sergey Kotov spotting several Ukrainian suicide boats approaching from behind and firing machine guns to stop them.

However, the suicide boat group pursuing the Sergey Kotov did not attack, but instead sought to force the warship to move into open waters outside the port town of Feodosia, according to Forbes editor David Axe. There, another group of Ukrainian suicide boats lay in wait and simultaneously attacked the Sergey Kotov.

"Instead of individually maneuvering the boats to infiltrate the area where the Russian warships were anchored, Ukraine employed a swarm attack tactic using ambushes," Axe reported. This shows that the Ukrainian suicide boat operators coordinated very closely when launching attacks, overwhelming and even cornering the Russian warships.

The tactic that helped Ukraine sink Russian ships using suicide boats.

Ukrainian suicide boats shadowed the Russian patrol boat Sergey Kotov during the attack on March 5. Video: RusVesna

Video released by Ukrainian intelligence shows Magura V5 suicide boats attacking both sides of the Sergey Kotov. At least one suicide boat crashed into a hole in the hull caused by the previous attack and exploded inside.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian forces attempted to tow the Sergey Kotov warship back to port after the attack. However, the damage was too severe, causing the ship to sink off the southeastern coast of Crimea.

Ukraine claims the Sergey Kotov warship costs around $65 million, while a Magura V5 suicide boat costs around $250,000. "If Ukraine used five Magura V5s to attack the Sergey Kotov, they would have spent approximately $1.5 million on the raid," Forbes editor Eric Tegler estimated.

Ukraine claims to have sunk a $65 million Russian warship.

Ukrainian suicide boats attacked the Russian patrol boat Sergey Kotov on March 5. Video: GUR

Newdick said the video of the attack on the landing ship Caesar Kunikov "shows the grim reality when a surface warship is under attack from a new threat, and the last-minute, futile efforts to protect the ship."

"This could spur a new approach for the Russian navy," Newdick assessed. "The video also highlights the challenge of defending against a coordinated attack by multiple suicide boats."

Nguyen Tien (Based on TWZ, AFP, Forbes, Reuters )

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