Ukraine has reportedly carried out major strikes on the Russian port of Novorossiysk, damaging two grain export terminals and also hitting Moscow’s last major naval base on the Black Sea, the BBC reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev had targeted the Russian base in a unique operation with missiles, fighter jets and naval drones, but did not mention the strikes on the grain terminals. The Ukrainian military later reported that four Russian warships, including two frigates, had been hit. Russia has yet to comment on the incident, but Zelensky wrote on social media that as long as the aggression against Ukraine continues, the occupier’s fleet and its infrastructure will not be safe.
The bulk of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, after leaving Sevastopol, is based in Novorossiysk, one of Russia’s largest ports. In the annexed Crimean peninsula of Sevastopol, the Russians were forced to abandon it as Ukrainian forces intensified their attacks.
In an interview with CNN, Zelensky said that Ukraine needs a tenth of the current stockpile of US interceptors to stop all Russian ballistic missile attacks. He added that 5% of the stockpile would allow Ukraine to survive the winter, and noted that this year Ukraine has received two and a half times fewer interceptors than in 2025, while Russia is sending twice as many missiles to its neighbor.
A major grain exporter confirmed to the Russian news agency TASS that its grain terminal was hit in the strikes,
and another company told Reuters and Russian media outlet RBK.
Russia’s Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday it was trying to redirect grain exports to the Baltic and Caspian Seas, as well as overland. The ministry did not comment on the Ukrainian strikes, but said it was taking into account “current logistical constraints.”
A state of emergency was declared in Novorossiysk on the 12th of August after drones hit targets near the port and damaged pipelines, cutting off water supplies. Elsewhere in the Krasnodar region, hundreds of drones flew in overnight, damaging dozens of buildings.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine on the 12th of August of strikes on Russian grain export and agricultural infrastructure, which are driving up global food prices and threatening grain shortages. At the same time, she said Russia would continue strikes on facilities used by the Ukrainian army to disrupt navigation in the Black Sea until the threat is completely eliminated.
Concerns about a global food shortage caused by Russia’s invasion have been simmering since 2022. Ukraine and Russia account for a significant portion of the global grain trade, supplying buyers in North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.
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