At least five Russian warships damaged by Ukrainian drone strikes in port of Novorossiysk

At least five Russian ships were damaged during a Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on the night of March 1-2, according to a report by the Telegram channel Dossier Shpiona (lit. “Dossier of a Spy”).

According to the initial data, the anti-submarine ships Yeysk and Kasimov were hit. The minesweeper Valentin Pikul was also believed to have sustained significant damage. The Telegram channel did not identify the other two ships damaged in the UAV attack.

On March 2, the Ukrainian open source intelligence (OSINT) project Exilenova+ published an image of a pier in the port of Novorossiysk showing an apparent stain “in the area of Project 1124 Albatros ships.” Both the Yeysk and Kasimov belong to that class.

Dossier Shpiona said three Russian servicemen were killed and 16 were wounded.

Exilenova+ published more detailed satellite images of the port on March 4. The images suggest that at least six ships were in the port at the time of the strike. Aside from those listed above, they included the minesweeper Ivan Golubets and the frigates Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen.

Local authorities did not comment on the reports.

During the attack of March 1-2, the Sheskharis oil terminal also caught fire. According to reports from local officials, the fire at the fuel terminal was extinguished during the day on March 2. Seven people were reported injured.

The Sheskharis oil terminal, one of the largest in southern Russia, is owned by a subsidiary of the state-controlled pipeline operator Transneft. It serves as the endpoint for the company’s main oil pipelines and handles part of Russia’s Urals crude exports, loading 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day.