Military expert and retired first-rank captain Vasily Dandykin said any underwater fleet that could be created by the Ukrainian military would most likely consist of autonomous underwater vehicles and uncrewed boats.

Speaking to aif.ru, Dandykin said one such autonomous underwater device had already been destroyed. In his view, the system was likely supplied by Western backers, possibly Britain or Germany. He described it as a serious weapon and suggested Ukraine was unlikely to have many of them, noting that such systems are far more expensive than ordinary drones.

He also said Russian forces had already learned how to counter other naval weapons previously used by the Ukrainian side. In particular, he noted that Russian troops were now capable of destroying semi-submersible boats. According to Dandykin, Ukrainian forces had also tried to refine this type of equipment and experiment with different solutions, including mounting air defense weapons on uncrewed boats.

Earlier, military analysts suggested that the Ukrainian military could begin building its own underwater fleet. Those assessments followed a March 28 statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, which said Black Sea Fleet forces had destroyed an autonomous underwater vehicle used by the Ukrainian side.