Ukraine's new Magura naval platforms strike Russian radar systems in occupied Crimea for 1st time, military intelligence says

Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) used newly developed Magura naval platforms carrying FPV (first-person-view) drones to strike two Russian radar-related targets in occupied Crimea, the agency said on Aug. 3.

The operation, carried out by HUR's Group 13 special unit in late July, targeted a command vehicle belonging to a Podlet radar system and a Parol-4 identification friend-or-foe radar interrogator, according to the agency.

HUR said the operation marked the first time the new Magura platforms had enabled Ukrainian forces to launch FPV drones against Russian ground targets in occupied Crimea.

"From now on, our Maguras threaten the Russian occupiers on land as well — this fundamentally shifts the fight into a new dimension," HUR said.

HUR said Group 13 had previously destroyed nine Russian vessels and damaged five others using Magura naval drones. The unit had also destroyed three helicopters and two fighter jets and damaged another helicopter, according to the agency.

HUR first publicly presented its latest Magura sea drones on May 14, 2025. The platforms have played a key role in Ukraine's Black Sea campaign, with Group 13 using them to strike 17 Russian naval and aerial targets as of May 2025, according to the agency.

Separately, explosions and fires were reported across occupied Crimea overnight on Aug. 3.

Local residents reported explosions in Kerch, and the Crimean Bridge, which connects the occupied peninsula with mainland Russia, was closed at around 1 a.m. local time, according to a local monitoring channel.

The Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported that an electrical substation in Kerch had been struck.

Satellite imagery showed a fire near a worker camp built for personnel involved in the construction of the Crimean Bridge. The fire was around 300 meters from the TES oil and gas terminal, a facility that has previously come under attack, according to the Telegram channel Crimean Wind.

Among the sites hit were an oil depot in occupied Feodosia and Kerch's central market, where a fire broke out, Crimean Wind reported.

Ukraine's General Staff later confirmed strikes on several Russian military logistics sites in occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian forces struck a logistics warehouse and a repair base used by a Russian artillery brigade near Nove Zhyttia, the General Staff said. The facility was used to store weapons, spare parts, and other supplies, as well as to repair artillery and military equipment.

Logistics warehouses near Okunivka and Naumivka and a communications hub near Artemivka were also struck, according to the General Staff.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that its forces intercepted 131 drones overnight over occupied Crimea, the Black Sea, and several Russian regions.