A large-scale Ukrainian drone and missile attack on Russia’s port of Novorossiysk struck warships at the naval base and forced two major grain export terminals to halt operations, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials as well as grain industry sources.
The overnight assault on August 12 targeted what remains of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet presence after it was forced to vacate its former home base of Sevastopol due to repeated Ukrainian attacks. Repeated explosions were reported over Novorossiysk throughout the night as air defenses attempted to intercept incoming aerial objects. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy described the operation as a “unique operation” targeting the Black Sea Fleet.
Grain terminals offline, exports disrupted
The strike forced two of Russia’s largest grain export terminals at Novorossiysk to suspend operations, according to industry sources cited by BBC News. Novorossiysk handles a significant share of Russia’s grain exports through the Black Sea, and the disruption adds to a growing supply crisis at both ends of the sea. Bloomberg previously reported in late July that Sheshkharis, Russia’s largest oil terminal in the Black Sea located in Novorossiysk, had already suspended oil tanker loadings due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks.
The attack came as Russia had been tightening its own pressure on Ukraine’s maritime routes. Overnight strikes on August 13 targeted the port infrastructure of Izmail in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, causing damage and setting off a fire, regional authorities said. Military experts say Moscow is seeking to “completely choke off Ukraine’s last remaining waterway” – the Danube River route through Izmail that has become critical for Ukrainian agricultural exports since the Black Sea corridor was effectively blocked.
A sea in flames at both ends
The Black Sea, a hub for global grain trade and Ukraine’s lifeline to the world economy, has been transformed this summer into a contested zone of mutual destruction. Attacks by both Russia and Ukraine have set ships and port infrastructure ablaze at opposite ends of the sea. Ukraine grain exports fell 75 percent in early August as port attacks halted shipping, pushing wheat prices to a two-year high and raising global food price fears, according to earlier reporting.
The strikes on Novorossiysk represent a significant escalation in Ukraine’s campaign to degrade Russia’s naval capabilities. The port has become the primary base for what remains of the Russian Black Sea Fleet after years of Ukrainian strikes forced the fleet’s retreat from Crimea. By targeting both the naval base and the grain terminals simultaneously, Ukraine is hitting both the military and economic dimensions of Russia’s Black Sea presence in a single operation.
Sources: BBC News; Bloomberg; Reuters; Al Jazeera; FDD Overnight Brief
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