Brit missiles & drones helped ‘lay waste’ to a THIRD of Putin’s feared Black Sea Fleet, says Shapps after Zelensky talks

BRITISH missiles and drones have helped Ukraine “lay waste” to almost a third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, Grant Shapps revealed today (Thursday).

The Defence Secretary urged allies to ramp up military aid to Ukraine as he pledged to give Kyiv 10,000 drones – including devastating unmanned sea vessels – to blast back Russian invaders.

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Defence Secretary Grant Shapps meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine in September last year[/caption]

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A Ukrainian troop fires a weapon at a shooting range near Kharkiv, Ukraine[/caption]

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Smoke rises from Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Sergey Kotov after it was damaged by Ukrainian sea drones[/caption]

Speaking in Kyiv where he met Ukraine’s President Zelensky, Shapps said: “Ukraine’s Armed Forces are using UK donated weapons to unprecedented effect, to help lay waste to nearly 30 per cent of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.”

It comes days after Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence sank the Sergei Kotov corvette with a swarm of sea drones on Tuesday.

It brought to at least 23 the number of Russian warships either sunk, destroyed or badly damaged since Putin launched his full scale invasion.

The UK has not revealed if is supporting the Magura V5 sea drone missions but its devastating Storm Shadow cruise missiles hit a Kilo-class submarine, a Ropucha class landing ship and the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol last year.

On Wednesday Russia claimed its fighter jets intercepted an RAF Rivet Joint spy plane as it hoovered signals intelligence over the Black Sea.

Shapps said Britain was sending 10,000 more deadly drones worth £125million direct from UK “factory floors to the frontline”. It brings to £325million the UK’s spending on drones for Ukraine.

The MoD said over £100 million of that cash was spent on “maritime capabilities”.

It insisted: “Ukraine will continue to turn the tide in the Black Sea.”

Shapps said Britain was “ramping up our commitment to arm Ukraine” after the PM pledged to spend £2.5billion on military aid in the coming financial year.

In a message to allies, including America which has stalled on a major military aid package, he said: “I encourage international partners to join the UK in this effort.”

Dramatic footage was this week leaked by a Russian Telegram channel which showed a fierce battle as terror-stricken Russian sailors attempted to stave off a relentless Ukrainian kamikaze drone attack.

A GoPro video was made aboard the doomed £170million Caesar Kunikov landing ship that exploded into a fireball and sank as a Valentine’s gift for Putin.

The extraordinary footage saw Russian seamen desperately try to save the 369ft warship – which was lurking near to annexed Crimea – from the attack by pumping the water with lead.

There was absolute chaos on the deck when Putin’s forces saw the drones weaving towards them in the Black Sea and struggled to repel the attack.

But the swarm of jet-ski powered USVs were completely undeterred in their assault and the video climaxed as an explosion sunk and destroyed the hulking vessel.

The video surfaced only two days after yet another Russian warship, the modern Sergey Kotov patrol ship, was sunk off Crimea in a separate marine drone attack by Kyiv.

Having only been in service since 2022, the £51million vessel was blown to pieces in an early morning strike – and it was all captured on video, smirkingly released by Ukraine.

The successful Ukrainian attack meant that Putin lost his dominance in the western sector of the Black Sea.

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Grant Shapps poses with Ukrainian and British soldiers while visiting Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire[/caption]

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears today during a television interview with the Rai program ‘Five Minutes’[/caption]

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A shopping mall in Nikopol, Ukraine, photographed yesterday following a Russian military attack[/caption]

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Ukrainian troops fire an anti-aircraft cannon at a frontline near the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine[/caption]

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Russian President Vladimir Putin grimaces while visiting an aviation plant on February 21 in Kazan, Russia[/caption]