Ukraine Strikes Russia’s Novorossiysk Port, Killing Three

Ukraine has launched a major overnight drone and missile attack on Russia’s Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk, killing three people, including an eight-year-old child, and injuring 24 others.

In a report by BBC the “massive” assault damaged two major grain export terminals and struck Russia’s last major naval base on the Black Sea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv used rockets, aircraft and naval drones in what he described as a “unique operation” targeting the Russian naval base. He did not specifically mention damage to the grain terminals.

Ukraine’s military later claimed that four Russian warships, including two frigates, were hit in the attack. Russia has not publicly commented on the claim.

“The occupying fleet and all the infrastructure that supports it will not be safe as long as Russian aggression continues,” Zelensky said in a social media post.

Novorossiysk has become the main base for much of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet after Ukrainian attacks forced Russian warships to move away from Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.

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The attack also disrupted grain exports, with a major grain trading company confirming to Russian state news agency TASS that its terminal had been hit. Another company separately confirmed damage to its facility.

Russia’s Agriculture Ministry said it was working to redirect cargo shipments to ports in the Baltic and Caspian seas, as well as land routes, citing “current logistical constraints”.

Authorities declared an emergency in Novorossiysk after the overnight barrage damaged infrastructure, including pipelines, and disrupted the city’s water supply.

Several areas of Russia’s Krasnodar region were also targeted, with regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev saying “several hundred drones” had been used in the attacks. He said dozens of buildings, including residential properties, were damaged.

The strikes came as Russia also intensified its overnight attacks on Ukraine. At least 11 civilians were killed between Tuesday and Wednesday, with most of the deaths recorded in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia after Russian forces used ballistic missiles and glide bombs.

Zelensky told CNN that Ukraine would need about 10% of the current US stockpile of interceptor missiles to defend against all Russian ballistic missile attacks. He said receiving 5% of the stockpile would help Ukraine get through the winter.

According to Zelensky, Ukraine has received two and a half times fewer interceptor missiles this year than in 2025, while Russia is now launching twice as many ballistic missiles each month.

The latest exchange of attacks has raised fresh concerns over grain supplies and maritime trade in the Black Sea.

Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter, while Russia and Ukraine together account for a significant share of global grain supplies, particularly to countries in North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.

Ukraine’s Agribusiness Club reported a 23% decline in exports in July, while disruptions in the Black and Azov seas have increasingly affected Russian grain shipments as Kyiv expands its long-range attacks.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, accused Ukraine of targeting Russian grain and agricultural infrastructure and said such attacks were contributing to higher global food prices and worsening grain shortages.

Zakharova also said Russia would continue attacking facilities used by Ukraine’s armed forces in the Black Sea until what Moscow described as security threats to the Sea of Azov and Black Sea were eliminated.

The Black Sea has remained a key battleground since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A UN-backed grain deal that temporarily allowed Ukrainian agricultural exports through the Black Sea collapsed after Russia withdrew from the arrangement in 2023.