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The drones, combined with special forces raids on Snake Island and Crimea, as well as the sinking of the Moskva by navy missiles, have forced the ­Russians on to the back foot.

They have had to shift from offensive patrols in the Black Sea to defensive missions.
Russia’s superior naval force, which once threatened an amphibious landing at Odesa, can no longer enforce its blockade and has even had to retreat to the Kremlin-controlled coastline. Moscow’s helicopters and fast patrol boats have had to be used to defend ­occupied ports, where the Black Sea fleet has installed numerous layers of ­defence against the drones.

That has allowed Ukraine to carve out an international trade route that hugs the coasts of Romania and Bulgaria, both Nato allies, through the Bosphorus, breaking President Putin’s stranglehold on the country’s economy.

Bridget Brink, the United States’ ambassador to Kyiv, said on Monday that since the Kremlin had pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal over the summer, Ukraine’s “humanitarian corridor” had allowed the passage of more than 200 ships and seven million tons of grain, metals and other goods.

The commander said: “The Russians began to behave much more cautiously at sea. We can just take a look at their movement changes. They began to spend most of their time closer to the Crimean coast, making runs between Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch, Novorossiysk. They can no longer afford to travel along this route as freely as they felt before we started our work.”

To his left are the slender grey frames of the Magura V5 unmanned surface vessels, each fitted with two cameras, infrared optics, a satellite receiver and a 300hp engine that drives the craft through waves at 45 nautical mph. In its kayak-like bow sits a 250kg warhead.

To the commander’s right are the bulkier black hulls of the next generation of drones, packing heavier warheads that can send mines into the path of unsuspecting vessels before returning to base intact. Although his sea drones are assembled entirely in Ukraine, it is clear they have benefited from western technology.

A Starlink-style satellite receiver is positioned on the back, relaying the feed from its two cameras to a military intelligence unit that has close bonds with both British and US intelligence.

A 300hp engine propels it at up to 45mph as it attacks, with a cruise speed of 25mph giving it a range of about 250 miles.

In August last year Britain donated six unmanned undersea autonomous mine-hunting vehicles to Ukraine — advanced technology that may yet be ­replicated in submerged attack drones.

Ukraine’s success at sea was noted by the British foreign secretary, on a trip to Odesa last month. “It is so important what the Ukrainian navy has accomplished — pushing back the Russians, opening these new sea lanes,” he said. “I am proud that Britain is playing its part.”

Commander 13 wholeheartedly agrees. “My dream is to sink even more Russian ships, much larger ones,” he said. “So many that they shouldn’t be able to sail at all. Do we have the capability to wipe out the entire Black Sea fleet? Yes. And we’re working on that.”