Fleet was probably damaged
Zelenskyy thanks SBU for attack on Russian warship
8/4/2023 9:44 p.m
Those responsible in Kiev are pleased with the news that their secret service drones are said to have hit a naval ship in the port of the Russian city of Novorossiysk. President Zelenskyy says Russia blamed itself for the SBU attack.
After the Ukrainian sea drone attack on a Russian warship, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the SBU secret service for its work. The SBU brought the war back to the Russian aggressor, Zelenskyy noted in his nightly video address on his Telegram channel. “What you bring into the world, that’s what you ultimately stay with.”
Previously, the media published a video on the Internet that is said to show the successful attack of an SBU sea drone loaded with 450 kilograms of explosives on the enemy ship. Later pictures showed the landing ship “Olenegorski gornjak” (Olenegorsk miner) in an inclined position in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Even pro-war Russian military bloggers wrote of damage to the ship.
“This is good and fair news for Ukraine,” spokesman for the Kiev military intelligence service HUR, Andriy Yusov, said on television. “This will continue.” The hit on the DropShip is a great loss for the Russian fleet. According to the information, Russia uses this type of ship to transport troops and material to the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Ukraine itself has hardly any navy left
Advisor to the Kyiv presidential office Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter that the new Ukrainian naval drones would completely change the rules of the game. The Russian naval presence in the Black Sea will come to an end. In the future, Ukraine will ensure “freedom and security in the Black Sea for world trade”. Previously, Kiev had repeatedly used remote-controlled explosive boats, including against the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia.
The Russian landing ship is said to have had a crew of around 100 men. The Defense Ministry in Moscow confirmed the drone strike but claimed it was repelled. Ukraine has almost no navy left. At the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian Navy itself sunk its flagship “Hetman Sahaydachnyj” in the port of Mykolayiv, which was in need of repairs. It should not fall into the hands of the Russians.
Two corvettes are under construction in Turkey. Two minesweepers received from Britain cannot enter the Black Sea through the Turkish-controlled Bosphorus Strait because of the war. However, last year Kiev sank the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the cruiser Moskva, with Neptun-type anti-ship missiles.
Russian shelling destroys grain elevators
Clashes in the Black Sea and adjacent ports have increased since Russia refused to extend the grain deal. Russian drones and missiles have hit several Ukrainian port facilities and grain elevators on the Black Sea. Russia has reported an attack by Ukrainian naval drones on its warships escorting a civilian ship.
The agreement reached with Russia in July 2022, mediated by the United Nations and Turkey, enabled Ukraine to ship its grain through a protective corridor in the Black Sea, despite the Russian war. Russia suspended the agreement in July 2023.