Drones hit a naval ship in a major Russian port, latest attack inside Russia, say officials

Kyiv: Ukrainian sea drones attacked Russian port on Black Sea, damaging naval ship; Moscow claimed repelled attack; Kyiv vowed to bring fight home to them.

Ukrainian sea drones attacked a major Russian port on the Black Sea on August 4, damaging a naval ship, according to a Ukrainian official, the latest in a series of strikes inside Russia as Kyiv vowed to bring the fight home to them. Moscow claimed it repelled the attack.

The strike on Novorossiysk marks the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the 18-month war. The port — which hosts a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal and is key for exports — lies just across the Black Sea from Crimea, where Russia’s Defense Ministry said it thwarted another attack overnight, taking down 13 drones.

The Security Service of Ukraine and the country’s navy carried out the attack on Novorossiysk, according to an official with the security service, and the landing ship, Olenegorsky Gornyak, suffered a serious breach. As a result, the ship is unable to carry out its combat missions, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give the information to the media.

Ukrainian news agencies carried footage from social media channels that they suggested showed the Olenegorsky Gornyak listing to one side. The ship is designed to transport troops and heavy equipment and was sent for repairs in 2014, according to Russian media reports. It is normally based with Russia’s Northern Fleet in the Arctic.

Russia, however, claimed it fended off the attack on Novorossiysk, saying ships patrolling the perimeter of the naval base, including the Olenegorsky Gornyak, destroyed two sea drones. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which operates an oil terminal in the port, said maritime traffic was halted for a few hours but that its facilities were not damaged. The regional governor said there were no casualties.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the attack during a conference call with reporters.

Footage published on Russian social media channels appeared to show a ship firing into the sea and a burning object exploding. Ukrainian social media channels also posted nighttime video shot from what they indicated was a sea drone, floating near a ship. The Associated Press could not verify the videos.