The drones used to attack Russian ships in the Black Sea in Crimea were equipped with Canadian-made parts used in the navigation systems, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
It said 16 Ukrainian drones attacked the fleet in the Black Sea in the annexed Crimean Peninsula early on Saturday. Russia said its navy “repelled” the assault in the bay of Sevastopol.
The Russian military “conducted an examination of Canadian-made navigation modules” found in the shot-down unmanned aerial vehicles.
“According to the results of the information recovered from the navigation receiver’s memory, it was established that the launch of maritime drones was carried out from the coast near the city of Odesa,” the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
The drones reportedly moved along the “grain corridor” safe zone, before changing course to head for Russia’s naval base in the largest city on the Crimean Peninsula, Sevastopol.
The defence ministry said one of the drones may have been launched “from aboard one of the civilian ships chartered by Kyiv or its Western masters for the export of agricultural products from the seaports of Ukraine”.
Russia has accused Kyiv of planning the Sevastopol attack with the help of United Kingdom military “specialists”. The UK denied the accusations.
Last month a key bridge linking Crimea to mainland Russia was partially damaged in a blast for which Moscow blamed Ukraine. Kyiv has denied its role in the attack that has attracted Russian retribution.
Russia has since carried out massive air and drone strikes across Ukraine, damaging more than one-third of its power infrastructure.
