Ukraine hit Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk with an overnight drone and missile attack, damaging grain export terminals and targeting a naval base. The strikes killed a child and disrupted operations at facilities that handle a large share of Russia's wheat exports.
Ukraine hammered Novorossiysk, Russia's Black Sea port city, in a massive overnight drone attack that put two major grain terminals out of action, according to Russian industry sources. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram that Ukraine had also hit the Novorossiysk naval base with drones, missiles and unmanned boats.
Three terminals hit, one child killed
Crypto Briefing reported that the assault, carried out in the early hours of August 11-12, hit three grain terminals directly: the Demetra Holding terminal, the NKHP facility linked to the Novorossiysk Grain Plant, and the KSK terminal, with operations suspended at two of them. NKHP alone has export capacity of roughly 7.1 million metric tons per year. Separately, Krasnodar region governor Veniamin Kondratyev said a sweeping wave of attacks killed at least two people, including an 8-year-old child. Novorossiysk mayor Andrei Kravchenko separately said four enterprises and more than two dozen residential buildings were damaged.
A stronghold under repeated fire
Russia moved part of its Black Sea Fleet to Novorossiysk after Ukrainian forces repeatedly struck its vessels in Crimea, and Zelenskyy characterized the port as the fleet's last major stronghold. Ukrainian forces had already struck Novorossiysk in April and June, making this the latest in a pattern of hits on Russian export infrastructure along the Black Sea coast. The operation reportedly involved Palianytsia drones and Neptune missiles, an anti-ship weapon adapted for strikes on land targets.
Wheat exports exposed
The world's largest wheat exporter, Russia, ships most of those exports through Black Sea ports such as Novorossiysk. Its main grain lobby group warned last month that Ukrainian attacks could shut down Black Sea grain exports, pushing up prices and causing hunger in Africa and the Middle East. Other Black Sea ports lack the capacity to absorb Novorossiysk's volumes. Insurance costs for vessels in the region have already climbed through the conflict.
Sources: Commodities & Futures News, Crypto Briefing
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