ISW analysts examine Ukrainian drone attack on Russian ships in Caspian Sea

Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggested which Russian missile ships and corvettes in the Caspian Sea of ​​the Republic of Dagestan could have been damaged by Ukrainian drones on November 6.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that.

According to reports, Ukrainian forces made a strike on November 6 at the Russian naval base in Kaspiysk, located in the Republic of Dagestan. This marked the first time Ukrainian troops had attacked the base, causing damage to multiple missile ships belonging to the Russian Caspian Flotilla.

It is noted that Ukrainian drones struck the naval base, damaging Tatarstan- and Dagestan-class frigates and possibly several Buyan-class corvettes nearby.

Meanwhile, per the report, Sergey Melikov, the leader of the Republic of Dagestan, announced on November 6 that Russian military forces had intercepted a Ukrainian drone over the Caspian Sea. Melikov did not mention any specific outcomes resulting from the incident.

According to satellite images from November 6, it appears that there were most likely three Russian Buyan-class ships, two Buyan-M-class ships, one Tarantul-class ship, one Cheetah-class ship, and one Karakurt-class ship present at the Caspian port on the day of the attack.

However, analysts say these images are insufficient to identify damage to ships or naval docks.

"Geolocated footage published on November 6 shows drones striking near port infrastructure in Kaspiysk," ISW experts said.

It should be noted that on the evening of November 6, satellite photos of the port in Kaspiysk (Dagestan) appeared online. They were made after another early morning drone attack by the Main Directorate of Intelligence on the Russian fleet.

^{Photo: X (Twitter) / OSINT researcher MT_Anderson}

It is noted that the surviving ships were dispersed across the sea.

^{Photo: X (Twitter) / OSINT researcher MT_Anderson}

" You can see the dispersal of the flotilla in the waters around Kaspiysk. Not seeing any obvious ship damage at the naval piers but will need higher resolution for any confirmation," OSINT researcher MT_Anderson wrote on X (Twitter).

The main conclusions of the ISW for November 6:

• Ukrainian forces reportedly struck a Russian naval base in Kaspiysk, Republic of Dagestan, for the first time on November 6, damaging several missile ships of the Russia Caspian Sea Flotilla.
• Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian forces executed at least 109 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) since the start of the full-scale invasion amid new reports of Russian executions of Ukrainian POWs.
• Russian forces recently advanced in the directions of Kupiansk, Svatove, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, and Vuhledar.
• A prominent Russian brigade commander and official indicated that Russian commanders and civilian leadership explicitly view Russian military volunteers as expendable resources, consistent with high casualty rates across the frontline.

For reference:

On the night of October 20, drones of the Security Service and the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit the Sverdlov plant in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhniy Novgorod region of the Russian Federation, which is the largest enterprise for the production of explosives.

In addition, on October 19, in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation, drones attacked the "Kremniy" plant, and a fire broke out. The official reported that Russian air defense units intercepted and destroyed seven Ukrainian drones. According to him, the debris of the downed drone fell on the attic of a non-residential building, where a fire broke out, which was quickly extinguished. It was officially reported that no one was injured due to the incident.

On the night of October 9, the Unmanned Systems Forces, along with other components of the Defense Forces, launched an attack on the 67th arsenal of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation's Main Missile and Artillery Directorate in the Bryansk region, resulting in explosions. The warehouse contained anti-aircraft guns and ammunition, some of which were from DPRK.