Ukraine destroyed a Russian Su-30 fighter jet using a missile fired from a seaborne drone, Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said today, in what it said was the world's first downing of a combat plane by a maritime drone.
Its statement on social media said the fighter had been shot down by a military intelligence unit called Group 13 yesterday over waters near Novorossiysk, a major Russian port city on the Black Sea.
Outmanned and outgunned by its larger, wealthier Russian adversary, Ukraine has turned to drone warfare in the air and at sea as a way to fight back throughout the three years of war.
Ukraine's seaborne drones, which are much cheaper and smaller than conventional ships, have wrought havoc on Russia's Black Sea fleet.
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Ukraine has previously said it shot down a Russian military helicopter in December 2024 using a missile fired from the same type of seaborne drone.
The announcement about the sea attack comes as the mayor of Novorossiysk declared a state of emergency after he said a Ukrainian drone attack today had damaged residential buildings and injured at least five people, including two children.
Watch: Moment Ukrianian drone strikes building in Russian port city of Novorossiysk
Andrei Kravchenko, the mayor, announced his decision on his official Telegram account today which showed him inspecting the damage to apartment buildings and giving orders to officials.
Mr Kravchenko said one of the injured people, a woman, was in hospital in a serious situation.
Ukraine's air force said Russia had attacked Ukraine overnight with 183 drones and two ballistic missiles.
Of the 183 drones, it said it had shot down 77 and that another 73 had fallen without causing any damage.
Trump 'began to see things a little differently' after Vatican meeting - Zelensky
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said US leader Donald Trump's views had begun evolving after their Vatican encounter last month, their first meeting since a clash at the White House.
"I am confident that after our meeting in the Vatican, President Trump began to look at things a little differently. We'll see. That's his vision, his choice in any case," Mr Zelensky said.
In comments released by his presidential administration, Mr Zelensky said his brief meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral was the best that the two men have had together.
He said he and Mr Trump agreed that a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow was the correct first step towards peace in the war in Ukraine.
However, he dismissed a three-day truce ordered by Russian leader Vladimir Putin coinciding with Moscow's World War II commemorations, adding that Kyiv was ready for a full ceasefire.
He said he raised the topic of sanctions with Mr Trump at the meeting, and that the response of the US president on this question was "very strong".
Mr Zelensky did not give specifics on this.
Ukraine won't be "playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin's exit from isolation on 9 May" when some international leaders are expected in Moscow, Mr Zelensky said.
Moscow, he said, was responsible for the safety of world leaders visiting Russia for the grand World War II commemorations planned next week.
46 people injured in drone attack on Kharkiv
Russia launched a mass drone attack late yesterday in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, hitting a high-rise apartment block, triggering fires and injuring 46 people, officials said.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said there had been strikes in 12 locations in four central districts of the city, a repeated target of Russian air attacks lying 30km from the country's northeastern border.
Mr Zelensky denounced the drone strikes, which hit Ukrainian cities several times a week. He said dozens of drones had been launched and Ukraine's allies were moving too slowly in helping beef up its air defence capability.
"There were no military targets, nor could there be any. Russia strikes dwellings when Ukrainians are in their homes, when they are putting their children to bed," Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians, though many thousands have been killed since it launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.
