Russian warship damaged after Ukraine attacks naval base

STORY: This is footage from a Ukrainian naval drone, as it reportedly hit a Russian warship in the Black Sea's dark waters overnight.

Sources on Friday (August 4) said the vessel was seriously damaged in the attack at the Russian navy base of Novorossiysk, after Russia said it had fended off the assault.

The civilian port, which handles 2% of the world's oil supply and also exports grain, temporarily halted all ship movement.

It later resumed normal operations, according to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed the drones had been destroyed, without mentioning any damage.

Video footage published on social media, however, seemed to show the boat ablaze and listing badly.

A Ukrainian intelligence source said the Olenegorsky Gornyak ship had suffered a serious breach and could no longer conduct combat missions.

The operation, they said, was a joint one between the Ukrainian Navy and SBU intelligence service.

They added that around 100 Russian servicemen were aboard the vessel when it was hit, along with almost 100 lbs of TNT.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify assertions about damage to the warship.

And there was no immediate comment from Moscow.

The port is one of the biggest in the Black Sea, and a major terminal for the export of oil and related products.

Tensions in and around the Black Sea have escalated since Russia withdrew from a deal allowing the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports last month.

Russian drones and missiles have repeatedly struck Ukrainian port facilities and grain silos on or near the Black Sea since.

Residents in Izmail, a Ukrainian port town in the Danube delta which is key for grain exports via the Black Sea, say they now live in constant fear of Russian attacks.

“We are living on a powder keg. We don’t know if we will wake up tomorrow or not. God knows.”

“Of course, we are scared. But it the attack was expected. There was an attack on Reni, so we expected an attack on Izmail as well. As usual, it happens in the night. We look at Odesa. Aerial alarms every day.”

Russia has also reported an uptick in attempted Ukrainian naval drone attacks on its own warships in the Black Sea.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday its forces had repelled an attempted Ukrainian attack on Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, using more than a dozen airplane-like drones.