Russian warship damaged after Ukraine attacks Black Sea naval base with sea drones: sources

Russia said on Friday that two unmanned Ukrainian naval drones had tried to stage an overnight attack on its Black Sea navy base at Novorossiysk in an incident which two sources told Reuters had seriously damaged a Russian warship.

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 Ukrainian attack had been repelled in the waters outside the base and that the two sea drones had been destroyed. It made no mention of any damage.

A Ukrainian intelligence source said 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.