The strike on Novorossiysk — which halted maritime traffic for a few hours — marks the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the nearly 18-month-old conflict.
In this grab taken from video released on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, a drone manoeuvers as it approaches the vessel claimed to be a Russian large landing ship, the Olenegorsky Gonyak, close to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Russia had accused Ukraine of attacking its Black Sea navy base in the port of Novorossiysk with sea drones.
The Security Service of Ukraine and the country’s navy carried out the attack that damaged Olenegorsky Gornyak, a landing vessel of the Russian navy, according to an official with the security service. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give the information to the media, said the attack made the ship unable to perform combat missions. Images posted on social media showed the ship listing.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, heralded the latest attack, saying it showed “drones are changing the rules of the game ... and ultimately destroying the value of the Russian fleet.” While Friday’s attack served as an important morale booster for Ukraine, challenging Russia’s naval power in the Black Sea will be hard for Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the navy fended off Friday’s attack, saying that its ships destroyed two Ukrainian sea drones. Footage published on Russian social media channels appeared to show a ship firing into the sea and a burning object exploding. Minutes after confirming the attack on the Black Sea port early Friday morning, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had also repelled another attack by Ukraine on Crimea. The ministry said air defense systems shot down 10 drones and jammed another three.
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