Refinitiv Newscasts - Russian warship damaged after Ukraine attacks naval base

Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port PAO

04/08/2023 14:53

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Source: Reuters

Description: 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. Lauren Anthony reports.
Short Link: https://refini.tv/44SFxCE

Video Transcript:

This is footage from a Ukrainian naval drone, as it reportedly hit a Russian
warship in the Black Sea's dark waters overnight. Sources on Friday said the
vessel was seriously damaged in the attack at the Russian navy base of
Novorossiysk, after Russia said it had fended off the assault. The civilian
port, which handles 2% of the world's oil supply and also exports grain,
temporarily halted all ship movement. It later resumed normal operations,
according to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Russia's Defense Ministry
claimed the drones had been destroyed, without mentioning any damage. Video
footage published on social media, however, seemed to show the boat ablaze and
listing badly. A Ukrainian intelligence source said the Olenegorsky Gornyak
ship had suffered a serious breach and could no longer conduct combat
missions. The operation, they said, was a joint one between the Ukrainian Navy
and SBU intelligence service. They added that around 100 Russian servicemen
were aboard the vessel when it was hit, along with almost 100 lbs of TNT.
Reuters was not able to immediately verify assertions about damage to the
warship. And there was no immediate comment from Moscow. The port is one of
the biggest in the Black Sea, and a major terminal for the export of oil and
related products. Tensions in and around the Black Sea have escalated since
Russia withdrew from a deal allowing the safe export of grain from Ukrainian
ports last month. Russian drones and missiles have repeatedly struck Ukrainian
port facilities and grain silos on or near the Black Sea since. Residents in
Izmail, a Ukrainian port town in the Danube delta which is key for grain
exports via the Black Sea, say they now live in constant fear of Russian
attacks.

We are living on a powder keg. We don’t know if we will wake up tomorrow
or not. God knows.

Of course, we are scared. But the attack was expected. There was an attack on
Reni, so we expected an attack on Izmail as well. As usual, it happens in the
night. We look at Odesa. Aerial alarms every day.

Russia has also reported an uptick in attempted Ukrainian naval drone attacks
on its own warships in the Black Sea. The Russian Defense Ministry said on
Friday its forces had repelled an attempted Ukrainian attack on Crimea, which
it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, using more than a dozen airplane-like drones