Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) struck the Russian Steregushchy-class corvette RFS Boiky on the morning of June 3rd.
The attack took place around 06h35 local time as part of a larger UAV strike against military and economic targets in the Saint Petersburg region . At the time of the attack, the corvette was docked at the Veleshchynsjy dockyard at Kronstadt where it was undergoing a planned maintenance since February 2026. Footage of the drone attack made available by Ukraine, shows how the corvette is struck at least twice midships just aft the superstructure. The attack was part of a larger UAV attack with the primary target being the Peterburg oil terminal.
The attacks against the RFS Boiky are the latest in an ever escalating Ukrainian UAV campaign which seeks to undermine Russian military and economic power over Russia’s vast distances. Over the past weeks, Ukrainian UAVs have been striking mainly economic targets in the Saint Petersburg area, targeting the oil terminals at Ust Luga and Primorsk since the end of March.
At the same time, Ukraine keeps targeting Russian warships, primarily in the Black Sea though recently Ukraine reportedly struck vessels of the Caspian Flotilla.
Both these trends have now converged to the point where Ukraine is now able to start pressuring the part of the Baltic Fleet that is located at the Kronstadt naval base, near Saint Petersburg.
RFS Boiky damaged in accordance with Ukrainian strike doctrine
The strike targeted the midsection directly aft the bridge and mast. Ukrainian UAV crews have a habit of targeting this general area when attacking Russian warships and such attack runs have been observed in previous attacks as well.
There is a specific reasoning as to why Ukrainian UAV crews choose to attack this area. First, the UAVs lack the explosive capabilities to destroy a surface warship, unlike their maritime (USV) counterparts. As such, Ukrainian UAV crews are trying to inflict the maximum amount of damage which will prevent the vessel to be fully combat capable. The mast above the bridge contains several electronic sensors, radars, and communication arrays. Disabling these systems will render the vessel combat ineffective, a so-called soft kill.
This tactic and doctrine has been developed over the years and was successful in targeting Russian warships underway in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, in some instances, forcing these struck Russian warships to abandon their patrol area as they were no longer effectively capable of maintaining their patrol.
An unintended side effect is that most of some of these electronic systems were obtained from Western companies and contain components which the Russian industry finds difficult to impossible to replicate. As such, destroying these electronic systems makes it difficult for Russia to repair the damaged vessel and restore their combat capabilities. Though Russia is still able to acquire Western technology and electronic components via neutral third countries though at an increased cost. Ukrainian soft kill tactics, born out of the reality that UAVs lack the capability of destroying a larger warship, do result in further draining Russian finances through more expensive repairs.
Russia’s Baltic Fleet caught largely unprepared
The strike on the morning of June 3rd shows that the Baltic Fleet, or at least the part stationed at Kronstadt, was unprepared to respond to this strike. Ukrainian long range UAV strikes have been gradually expanding in range, size, and complexity over the past months and have slowly been pushing closer to targets deep inside Russia, when viewed from the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine has been able to strike targets around Saint Petersburg frequently since the end of March 2026, though most targets were economic in nature, with the oil terminal at Ust Luga and Primorsk being the most important targets. Ukraine seeks to undermine Russia financially by gradually destroying the infrastructure which Russia is using to export oil to the global markets.
Russia’s air defence networks have so far been unsuccessful in fully stopping these Ukrainian attacks, or even significantly weaken their effectiveness. With Saint Petersburg being under relatively sustained attack over the past weeks, Russian air defences are still struggling to protect vital infrastructure in this region. Imagery shared by Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces shows at least one Ukrainian UAV being shot down by Russian air defence units, though several others succeeded in striking the Peterburg oil terminal.
Russia’s Baltic Fleet has in recent weeks shown to take the Ukrainian UAV threat more serious. Recent imagery reports that several vessels of the Baltic Fleet were equipped with protective netting installed around the superstructure to offer its warships some degree of protection against UAV attacks. Recently, on May 25th, the Buyan-M-class corvette RFS Orekhovo-Zuyevo was observed leaving the port of Baltiysk with protective netting covering much of the superstructure, most notably the radar mast and upper midsections.
The Baltic Fleet also regularly trains its vessels and crews on how to defend against USV and UAV attacks, according to various press statements by the Russian Ministry of Defence.
However, the strike on June 3rd shows that the Baltic Fleet has been unable to fully defend itself against a coordinated UAV attack by Ukraine. Images of the drone attack, released by Ukraine, shows that no protective anti-drone netting was installed over the RFS Boiky while it was in drydock. There was also a notable lack of anti-aircraft fire over the shipyard, suggesting that air defence units defending Kronstadt were either caught off guard, unable to respond, or even complete absent.
Analysis – Larger Strategic consequences
The Ukrainian UAV attack against the Steregushchy-class corvette RFS Boiky is a continuation of a larger offensive campaign aimed to dismantle the Russian Navy. It follows similar attacks made by Ukraine against warships of the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla with an attack against the Caspian flotilla docked at the naval base of Kaspiysk as recent as May 15th. Recent attacks have shown that Ukraine is shifting targets and is now more focused on taking out frigates and corvettes. Most likely, this shift in targeting is done to neutralize the maritime target of Russia’s maritime strike capabilities against Ukraine. Kalibr and Zircon cruise missiles are being used to strike targets in Ukraine. Most attacks are done by the frigates and submarines of the Black Sea Fleet, though the long range of the Kalibr cruise missile means that warships stationed near Saint Petersburg continue to pose at threat. As such, Ukraine is now demonstrating that it is able to target these warships, though it remains to be seen if Ukraine can expand these attacks in order to strike mobile targets in the Gulf of Finland instead of a stationary target in drydock.
Ukraine’s UAV attack on June 3rd also shows that the country now has the capability to start a more sustained strike campaign designed to push Russian vessels out of the Kronstadt-Saint Petersburg region. This can be done by preventing them from staying too long in the Kronstadt naval base resupply, and maintenance.
The Baltic Fleet can however still fall back to its main naval base at Kaliningrad which so far has been out of reach of Ukrainian UAVs. This sanctuary for the Baltic Fleet is due to the Kaliningrad Region being surrounded by NATO countries. Striking the Baltic Fleet at Kaliningrad would require Ukrainian UAVs to fly over NATO territory, an option which is politically not feasible.