• Ukraine has carried out its first drone attack on Russian warships in the Caspian Sea.
• Wednesday’s attack hit the Russian port city of Kaspiysk, hundreds of miles from the front line.
• It is the latest blow to the Russian navy, which has taken a beating in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian forces attacked Russian naval vessels in the Caspian Sea for the first time on Wednesday, the latest demonstration of Kiev’s long-range strike capabilities.

Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security of Ukraine published the footage of the attack on social networks. Kiev forces were said to have expanded the “strike zone” by “striking the Russian Caspian Fleet in Kaspiysk”, a port city hundreds of miles from the front line.

Videos shared by the Ukrainian government appear to capture the moment one of the attacking drones dives to hit its target. Anti-aircraft fire can be heard in some images, suggesting the Russians tried to defend themselves against the attack.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of countering disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, shared additional images of the strikes and confirmed the Kaspiysk attack in a message on the Telegram messaging platform.

Business Insider could not immediately verify the footage.

Sergei Melikov, the governor of Russia’s Dagestan region, wrote on Telegram that air defense destroyed a drone over Kaspiysk. He said the incident was being investigated and asked locals not to share photos or videos “that could help the enemy”.

Kiev’s armed forces did not publicly claim responsibility for the attack, but Ukrainian media did reported it was an operation by the country’s military intelligence agency, known as HUR. The attack reportedly damaged two missile ships in the harbor.

Wednesday’s attack marks the latest blow to the Russian Navy, which has suffered heavy losses in the Black Sea. Ukraine regularly used domestically produced naval missiles and drones to wreak havoc on Moscow’s warships.

Ukraine does not have a traditional navy with a fleet of warships, but through this campaign of asymmetric warfare, Kiev over the past two years has effectively forced Moscow to relocate the Black Sea fleet away from its headquarters in the occupied Crimea peninsula and closer to Russian territory.

While removing enemy naval forces from Crimea, Ukraine sank, destroyed or damaged at least 32 medium and large Russian naval vessels, a senior US defense official said last month.

Beyond the battles at sea, Ukraine has been developing itself more and more long range strike capabilities to attack ground targets deep inside Russia. Kiev has used homemade drones to strike several key military facilities in recent weeks, including ammunition depots and airfields.