Ukraine Drone Reportedly Blows Hole in Russian Ship

Russia's defense ministry says it has repelled a Ukrainian drone attack on its naval base in the Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. What it didn't say Friday was that a Russian naval ship, Olenegorsky Gornyak, suffered a hit that left it badly damaged, according to the BBC. An unverified video shows an unmanned sea drone, reportedly laden with nearly 1,000 pounds of dynamite, approaching the side of a ship believed to be the amphibious landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak under cover of darkness. The drone's camera then cuts out, apparently with the detonation at impact. Another video later shows the ship listing heavily.

Ukrainian government adviser Anton Gerashchenko said the blast left a "serious hole" in the ship, per Sky News. CNN describes images showing the ship "sitting very low in the water" as it's towed into port. The ship is "designed to launch amphibious forces close to shore for beach landings but also to dock and quickly unload cargo at ports," the BBC reports, noting any damage "may interfere with Russia's efforts to resupply forces fighting in occupied southern Ukraine." There were around 100 Russian servicemembers on the ship at the time of the attack—a joint effort by the Ukrainian Navy and Security Service of Ukraine, per CNN. Novorossiysk's mayor claimed the crew and that of another vessel reacted to prevent damage, per the Wall Street Journal.

The Russian Seafarers Union claimed "everything is calm" at the port, which is "working in normal mode," per CNN. However, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which loads oil onto tankers at the port—a major hub for Russian exports, including oil and grain—said the movement of ships had been suspended. The port is Russia's largest by volume of cargo handled, per CNN. It also serves as a base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet. According to CNN, "Russian officials claimed to have intercepted two Ukrainian sea drones at the port, despite the video evidence to the contrary." Separately, Russia claimed to have downed 10 Ukrainian drones and suppressed three others over Crimea on Friday. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)