Extract from ABC News
A Russian warship has reportedly been seriously damaged by a Ukrainian naval drone during an attack on Russia's Black Sea navy base in Novorossiysk, east of Crimea.
Key points:
- Ukrainian sources claim the Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak was damaged in a naval drone attack
- Russia confirmed an attack happened but did not report any damage or casualties
- Ukraine also launched a drone attack on targets in Russia-occupied Crimea
The attack prompted the civilian port, which handles 2 per cent of the world's oil supply and also exports grain, to temporarily halt 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 attack had been repelled in the waters outside the base and that two sea drones had been destroyed, but made no mention of any damage.
A Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a Russian navy landing ship, had suffered a serious breach and could not conduct combat missions following what they said was a joint operation by the Ukrainian navy and SBU intelligence service.
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.
Unverified video footage published on social media purported to show damage to it. In one video, it was seen listing heavily to its port side.
Another video purportedly shot from the naval drone shows it heading towards a large naval ship before the footage cuts at impact.
Andrei Kravchenko, a Novorossiysk city official, said on the Telegram app that the Olenegorsky Gornyak was one of two ships that had "instantly reacted" to fend off the Ukrainian attack.
"In the course of repelling the attack, the unmanned boats were visually detected and destroyed by fire from the standard weapons of the Russian ships guarding the outer waters of the naval base," he said.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium which loads oil onto tankers in Novorossiysk said its facilities were not damaged and that oil loadings continued onto tankers which were already moored.
The port is one of the biggest in the Black Sea, and a major terminal for the export of oil and oil products. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is the main exporter of Kazakh crude oil.
Exports of Russian and Kazakh oil from Novorossiysk average around 1.8 million barrels per day.
Britain's military intelligence service said last September that Russia's Black Sea Fleet had relocated some submarines from the Crimean port of Sevastopol to Novorossiysk, probably because of the increased threat of Ukrainian long-range strikes.
Tensions in and near the Black Sea have escalated since Russia last month withdrew from a deal allowing the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports. Russian drones and missiles have since repeatedly struck Ukrainian port facilities and grain silos on or near the Black Sea.
Russia has also reported an uptick in attempted Ukrainian naval drone attacks on its own warships in the Black Sea.
Crimea targeted in drone attacks, Shoigu appears
Novorossiysk is just across the water from illegally annexed Crimea, where Russia's Ministry of Defence said it thwarted another attack by Ukraine overnight, taking down 13 drones.
The ministry said air-defence systems shot down 10 drones and it electronically jammed another three.
Videos shared on Russian social media channels reportedly from around the city of Feodosia in Crimea showed what appeared to be air-defence systems working, as well as loud explosions.
Meanwhile Russia's defence ministry also published videos on Friday of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visiting a commander centre in Ukraine.
The defence ministry did not say exactly where Mr Shoigu was but it said he heard a report from group commander Lieutenant General Andrei Mordvichev and inspected a captured Swedish infantry fighting vehicle CV90.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said Mr Shoigu thanked personnel for conducting successful offensive operations in the direction of Lyman and for capturing more advantageous positions.
ABC/wires
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