Russia claimed to have defeated a Ukrainian sea drone attack, only to be instantly humiliated by a video showing it didn't

• Russia said Friday that it thwarted a Ukrainian sea drone attack on one of its warships.
• But videos released shortly after by Ukrainian officials proved otherwise.

Russia claimed to have defeated a Ukrainian sea drone attack in the Black Sea on Friday, only to be instantly humiliated by a video showing it worked.

In a statement on Telegram, the Russian Ministry of Defense said: "Tonight, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the use of two unmanned sea boats, attempted an attack on the Novorossiysk naval base of the Russian Armed Forces," according to a translation by LBC.

"During the repulse of the attack, unmanned boats were visually detected and destroyed by fire from the standard weapons of Russian ships guarding the outer raid of the naval base," the statement continued.

However, videos posted by Ukrainian officials on social media suggested otherwise.

Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, tweeted out dashcam footage of a Ukrainian sea drone approaching the Russian warship and slamming into its side before the signal cuts off.

Insider could not verify the video. Another Ukrainian told CNN on Friday that the attack was carried out by a drone with around 450 kilograms of TNT.

—Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 4, 2023

Stephen Wright, a drone technology developer, told Insider that the vessel looks similar to a new naval drone that Ukraine proudly revealed to CNN last week. He added that 450 kilograms was a "huge amount" for a drone to carry.

"To put it in context, estimates for the explosives being carried by the airborne strikes on Moscow are in the 5-10kg range," he added.

Wright said that Ukraine was preparing to step up its attacks on the Russian Black Sea fleet with larger, more powerful drones.

Another video taken in the aftermath of the attacks also appears to show that the ship was hit, dispelling the Russian claims. In the video, the ship is listing to one side as it is towed away.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on the attack, which is in keeping with their security policy.

"As a result of the attack, the Olenegorsky Gornyak received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions," the source told Reuters.

It has not been confirmed what ship it was, but a source with the Security Service of Ukraine identified it to Reuters as the Olenegorkiy Gornya, a large landing vessel stationed in Novorossiysk, which is far from Ukrainian-held territory.

There were no casualties, said Veniamin Kondratiev, the governor of the Krasnodar region, where the base is located.