Russian authorities in Novorossiysk have declared a state of emergency after Ukraine launched a devastating drone attack on the base of the Black Sea Fleet. The ferocious attack occurred simultaneously from the water and air, causing substantial damage.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been decimated by Ukraine and was forced to move from Sevastopol in Crimea to the port city of Novorossiysk. Drones hit an office complex belonging to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a Russian-Kazakh oil project backed by major multinationals. The company said two of its employees were injured and taken to hospital following the attack.
Several other people not employed by the company were “seriously” wounded, they added in a statement.
Emergency authorities reported two deaths and seven injuries, including a child.
Video images of the attack have been shared on social media channels, with one showing smoke coming from a hotel building and a nearby residential block. Another shows what appears to be a submersible approaching the port before being fired upon and exploding.
Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of Krasnodar Krai region, confirmed the attack in a post to his Telegram channel.
“Novorossiysk was subjected to a monstrous attack by the Kyiv regime this afternoon,” he wrote. “The drones hit the city centre in the middle of the day.”
He added that five residential buildings and a beachfront hotel were damaged.
More video footage showed burning parking lots and students taking cover in school hallways.
Earlier on Wednesday, drone alerts were issued across the Krasnodar region, where Novorossiysk is located.
Russia’s Defence Ministry has not yet commented on the attack, saying only its forces shot down 16 drones over the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s army has stepped up its attacks on Novorossiysk in recent weeks and hit a vessel of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on September 11.