Ukraine hits Novorossiysk naval base in unique Black Sea drone strike

Ukraine said it struck Russia's Novorossiysk naval base overnight with missiles and drones. The attack underscored Kyiv's push to squeeze Moscow's Black Sea operations as both sides intensified long-range strikes.Ukraine said it carried out an overnight attack on a major Russian naval base on the Black Sea coast using anti-ship missiles, jet-powered aerial drones and sea drones, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describing it as a "unique" operation. Russia, meanwhile, said its air defences shot down more than 500 Ukrainian drones during attacks on the Krasnodar region.The exchanges came as both sides continued long-range strikes overnight. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian intelligence reports showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning "an additional rapid mobilization of several hundred thousand Russians by the end of the year". Ukraine said Russia launched 138 long-range strike drones and an unspecified number of missiles at targets across the country, killing two people in Kherson and destroying a shopping mall in Zaporizhzhia.Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian military "carried out a unique operation targeting the naval base in Novorossiysk - the last major stronghold of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea". He said the attack hit air defences, piers and other port infrastructure in the city in Russia's Krasnodar region.Ukraine has repeatedly used drones developed since Russia's invasion more than four years ago to target Russian ships in the Black Sea, including warships and oil tankers. Kyiv officials say the country's uncrewed fleet has helped limit the movements of Russia's once-dominant Black Sea navy, which they describe as one of Ukraine's biggest achievements in the war. At the same time, Ukrainian officials believe Putin remains determined to continue the war despite Russia's slow and costly battlefield advances and US diplomatic efforts to find a settlement. Krasnodar region Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said hundreds of Ukrainian drones attacked Novorossiysk, Anapa, Gelendzhik and the Temryuk district overnight. He said an eight-year-old child was killed in Novorossiysk, while a person wounded when his house in the Temryuk region was hit later died in hospital. Kondratyev added that 12 other people in the region were wounded. He said debris from downed drones fell on four industrial plants and 21 residential buildings, though officials gave no details of the damage.Novorossiysk is also home to a key international oil terminal. The Grushovaya oil transshipment complex near the city is one of the largest hubs in southern Russia for oil and petroleum products. In February last year, the US State Department expressed displeasure over Ukrainian attacks on Novorossiysk, saying they had affected US oil interests in Kazakhstan. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium operates a pipeline from the Caspian coast in northwest Kazakhstan to Novorossiysk, handling much of the crude exports from three major Kazakh fields in which Chevron and ExxonMobil have stakes. In illegally annexed Crimea, air defences downed 115 Ukrainian drones over Sevastopol overnight, according to the city's Russia-appointed head Mikhail Razvozhayev, who said 10 apartment buildings and 25 private houses were damaged.On the Ukrainian side, the air force said damage was recorded at 16 locations across the country after Russia's overnight strikes. In the southern Kherson region, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said a large-scale Russian drone attack killed two people and wounded two others. Authorities also said a shopping mall in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia was destroyed.The overnight attacks underlined the continuing intensity of the war, with Ukraine targeting Russia's Black Sea naval infrastructure and Russia launching fresh drone and missile strikes across Ukraine, leaving casualties and damage on both sides.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 12, 2026 15:04 IST