Ukrainian Strike on Novorossiysk Also Damaged Russian Warships
The recent Ukrainian strike on Novorossiysk caused damage to a Transneft oil loading terminal, and may also have extended to Russian Navy warships, according to Ukrainian sources.
Ukrainska Pravda reports that the Russian minesweeper Valentin Pikul was seriously damaged in the Sunday night attack, and the antisubmarine patrol vessels Yeysk and Kasimov were struck as well. Three Russian sailors were reported dead, and 14 more injured.
The strikes on the Black Sea Fleet add to previously-reported damage at the Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk's inner harbor, where six out of seven loading booms were reportedly damaged.
The attack was part of a long-running Ukrainian campaign to shut down Russia's oil exports from Black Sea loading terminals, thereby reducing Russian energy revenue, which funds the ongoing invasion. Ukraine has also hit terminals at Tuapse and Temryuk, along with the CPC single-point mooring terminal outside Novorossiysk's harbor entrance.
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Ukraine has also struck the Black Sea Fleet repeatedly, first at Sevastopol and other Crimean ports, then in the Sea of Azov and the northeastern Black Sea. Novorossiysk is the fleet's final bastion, and most of the surviving hulls have retreated to the protected harbor. However, even this remote location is not immune: in December, Ukraine claimed to have hit the Kilo-class sub Varshavyanka at the naval pier in Novorossiysk using a submersible suicide drone. Varshavyanka and other vessels in the fleet have been used as launch platforms to attack Ukrainian cities with cruise missiles throughout the war.
The strikes at Novorossiysk parallel Ukraine's efforts to damage Russia-linked energy shipping at sea, notably the ultra-long-distance strike on the sanctioned LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz - perhaps the first attack ever to sink a vessel of this type.
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