Russian corvette Boikiy, known for escorting “shadow fleet” ships through the English Channel, hit by Ukrainian drones in Kronstadt

The published video appears to show at least two hits. The Russian pro-war Telegram channel Rybar wrote that the Boikiy was undergoing scheduled repairs in a dry dock at the Kronstadt Marine Plant.

“Why the corvette was in such a position without protection is a question with an asterisk,” Rybar wrote, using a Russian expression indicating that an issue is difficult or uncomfortable. “The fleet is extremely vulnerable to Ukrainian raids… As for communications, a Starlink satellite terminal was most likely used. The scheme is already well established: one of the relay drones travels through the Baltic states into international waters in the Gulf of Finland and transmits the signal to strike drones,” the channel wrote.

According to The Insider’s calculations, this is the third Baltic Fleet ship damaged during Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. In April 2024, the missile ship Serpukhov, Project 21631 Buyan-M, caught fire after being hit in a sabotage attack at the Kaliningrad Region’s Baltiysk base. Another ship of the same type, the Grad, was hit in October 2025 in Karelia.

In June 2025, a Russian Navy ship was reported to be escorting “shadow fleet” tankers through the English Channel for the first time. The Boikiy took part in that operation and later escorted the tanker General Skobelev and cargo ship Sparta from the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean via the English Channel. The vessels are believed to have helped remove military equipment from Russia’s base in Tartus, Syria.

The Insider previously reported that the Boikiy spoofed its signal by using a shared Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI), making it appear in tracking systems as different maritime objects.

On June 3, the opening day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the city came under a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack. The locations hit included the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, the city’s Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts, and infrastructure facilities in Kronstadt.