A Russian warship was seriously damaged in an overnight Ukrainian naval drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea navy base at Novorossiysk, two sources said on Friday (Aug 4), after Russia said it had fended off the attack.
The civilian port, which handles 2 per cent of the world’s oil supply and also exports grain, temporarily halted all ship movement before resuming normal operations, according to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium which operates an oil terminal there.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a short statement that the Ukrainian attack by two sea drones had been repelled in the waters outside the base and that the drones had been destroyed. It made no mention of any damage.
A Ukrainian intelligence source said the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a Russian Navy landing ship, had suffered a serious breach and could not conduct combat missions following a joint operation by the Ukrainian Navy and SBU intelligence service.
There was a crew of around 100 Russian servicemen on the vessel when it was attacked by a sea drone carrying 450kg of TNT, the source said, without giving any information on any casualties.
Separately, a source with knowledge of the port’s operations said a large Russian naval vessel had to be towed ashore because it could not move under its own power after being damaged.
The source, who did not name the vessel, said oil and grain loadings were still taking place at the port, which resumed normal operations hours after the attack.
Reuters was not able to immediately and independently verify the assertions about damage to the Olenegorsky Gornyak warship. The Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Unverified video footage published on social media purported to show damage to the vessel. In one video, it was seen listing heavily to its port side.
Source: CNA
