Ukrainian drones struck another Russian warship in the Caspian Sea, this time a border patrol ship far from any front line, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) said. The strike was part of a two-night drone campaign against dozens of military targets in Russia and occupied Ukraine. Ukraine's Security Service separately struck air defenses at an airfield in occupied Crimea.
A border patrol ship hit in the Caspian
The SBS 1st Separate Center hit a Russian Project 10410 Svetlyak patrol ship near Kaspiysk in Russia's Republic of Dagestan overnight on 17 May 2026. Kaspiysk is about 1,100 km away from the war zone in Ukraine. The ship belongs to the FSB Border Service of Russia. Drone footage shows it trying to flee and firing its onboard guns at the drone, without success. SBS commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi published the video.
The SBS strikes were carried out in parallel with a massive attack on Moscow Oblast, targeting oil and military-industrial facilities.
Drones set Moscow Oblast fuel and military sites on fire as Russia claims it downed more than 1,000
The Svetlyak is a small patrol ship designed in the mid-1980s for the FSB border service, Militarnyi noted. It displaces 375 tonnes, carries a crew of 28, and can run at nearly 30 knots. Its armament varies by build, from a 76mm cannon, a rapid-fire 30mm gun, and 16 shoulder-launched air-defense missiles to simplified gun-only fits on later vessels.
The wider target list
Over the nights of 16–17 May, the SBS reported 186 fire strikes on 46 military targets in Russia and the rear of occupied Crimea, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts, coordinated through its deep strike center. The targets Brovdi listed:
SBS 1st Separate Center:
- A strategic protected communications node of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, Myrnyi, occupied Crimea
- A gathering of Russian command personnel, Shakhtarsk, occupied Donetsk Oblast
- Port cranes used for occupation logistics, Berdiansk, occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast
- The Project 10410 border patrol ship, Kaspiysk, Republic of Dagestan
414th "Madyar's Birds" brigade:
- A Tor-M2 air defense system, Zakhidne, occupied Luhansk Oblast
- A fuel and lubricants train, Fedorivka, occupied Donetsk Oblast
- Telecommunications towers, occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast
- A Russian command post, with the "Phoenix" border unit, Bunge, occupied Donetsk Oblast
412th "Nemesis" brigade:
- A drone control point and an unmanned-systems logistics depot, Selydove, occupied Donetsk Oblast
413th "Raid" regiment:
- A Russian command post, Pokrovsk, occupied Donetsk Oblast
Brovdi said the variety of targets was off the charts and that the deep strike center had coordinated the operations.
Belbek air defenses hit by the SBU
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) separately reported strikes on air defenses and infrastructure at the Belbek military airfield in occupied Crimea. The targets included a Pantsir-S2 system, a hangar holding a radar for an S-400 system, control systems for Orion and Forpost drones, a ground-to-air data point, a control tower, and another hangar.
