Direct proof of use
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence has repeatedly identified MAGURA V5 unmanned surface vessels in Black Sea operations during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War. Its official accounts credit Group 13 and other DIU units with using MAGURA V5 boats against Russian naval targets, including the Ivanovets missile boat, the Sergey Kotov patrol ship, and smaller patrol or speed boats near occupied Crimea.
The most detailed official entries connect named MAGURA V5 attacks to specific dates and places. DIU said six MAGURA V5 drones attacked Ivanovets on 1 February 2024, said Group 13 used a MAGURA V5 marine drone against Sergey Kotov near the Kerch Strait on the night of 4-5 March 2024, and reported MAGURA V5 attacks on Russian small craft in Crimea in May 2024.
Sources: DIU Naval Drones Dominate the Black Sea, DIU Sergey Kotov Destroyed, DIU Crimea Speed Boat Destroyed
Timeline
Public conflict-use reporting concentrates in 2024. DIU's own chronology lists a sequence of MAGURA V5 maritime strikes in the Black Sea, beginning with the Ivanovets attack in February and continuing through strikes on Russian patrol, landing, and support craft around Crimea.
On 31 December 2024, DIU reported a different MAGURA V5 role: Group 13 used a missile-armed boat fitted with R-73 SeeDragon missiles near Cape Tarkhankut and destroyed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter while damaging another. In March 2025, a DIU UAV systems official said upgraded MAGURA boats with R-73 missiles had downed two Mi-8 helicopters and damaged a Ka-26 in December 2024.
Sources: DIU Naval Drones Dominate the Black Sea, DIU Historic MAGURA V5 Strike, DIU UAV Systems Comment
Role in the Black Sea campaign
MAGURA V5 use in the conflict is best documented as Ukrainian maritime interdiction and strike activity against Russian naval assets in and around the Black Sea. The official DIU record names the Ukrainian operator as Defence Intelligence, with Group 13 appearing in several incident accounts. The targets in these accounts were Russian surface vessels, from major combatants and landing craft to smaller patrol boats operating near occupied Crimea.
Secondary reporting on the Ivanovets attack described the available Ukrainian video as strong evidence, while noting that Russia had not confirmed the sinking at the time. Business Insider reported that Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone the ship had been struck by home-developed MAGURA V5 naval drones, placing the system inside the documented weakening of Russian Black Sea Fleet operations.
The late-2024 R-73 adaptation added an air-defense role to the same conflict-use record. The Aviationist summarized the Ukrainian claim and video evidence as a MAGURA V5 unmanned surface vessel armed with R-73 air-to-air missiles that hit a Russian Mi-8 near Cape Tarkhankut, with a second helicopter damaged according to Ukraine. This page treats that as an attributed Ukrainian claim supported by official footage and specialist reporting, not as an independently adjudicated loss record.
Sources: Business Insider Ivanovets Report, The Aviationist MAGURA R-73 Report, DIU Historic MAGURA V5 Strike, DIU UAV Systems Comment
