A “massive” Ukrainian drone and missile attack on the Russian port of Novorossiysk damaged two major grain export terminals and reportedly targeted Russia’s last major naval base in the Black Sea, according to reports cited by the BBC.
Three people, including an eight-year-old child, were killed and 24 others injured in the overnight attack, according to local officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had used missiles, jet aircraft and naval drones in what he described as a “unique operation” targeting the Russian naval base. He did not, however, mention the damage to the grain terminals.
Ukraine’s military later said that four Russian warships, including two frigates, were hit. Russia has not commented on the claim.
“Russia’s occupying fleet and all the infrastructure supporting it will not be safe as long as Russian aggression continues,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post.
Much of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is now based in Novorossiysk, one of Russia’s largest ports, after being forced to withdraw from its former base in Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea, which had become increasingly vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks.
A major grain trading company confirmed to Russia’s TASS news agency that its terminal had been hit, while another company confirmed the damage to Reuters and Russian media outlet RBK.
Russia’s Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday that it was working to redirect cargo flows to ports in the Baltic and Caspian seas, as well as to overland routes. It did not directly refer to the Ukrainian attacks, saying only that it was taking “current logistical restrictions” into account.
