Ukraine launched another major overnight drone strike on Russia’s strategic port of Novorossiysk, damaging the Sheskharis oil-loading terminal, S-300/S-400 air-defense systems and a large Russian landing ship, sources within Ukrainian security services told Kyiv Post on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Novorossiysk is Russia’s second-biggest oil export point and the main base of the Black Sea Fleet.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
The SBU’s Alfa special-operations unit, working with Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces, used long-range drones to hit multiple military and logistics sites in Krasnodar Krai.
According to sources, strikes targeted the oil terminal’s loading stands and manifolds, as well as nearby air-defense positions. Early reports indicate a Project 1171 landing ship docked at the naval base was also damaged.
The operation was coordinated with Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), Special Operations Forces, Unmanned Systems Forces, State Border Guard Service, and the Ukrainian Navy’s coastal missile-artillery units.
The regional crisis center said drone debris hit two apartment buildings in Novorossiysk, damaging three apartments on the 11th and 12th floors. A small fire was quickly extinguished, and no injuries were reported. Emergency crews remain on site.
SBU Calls Bryansk Bus Strike Russian False Flag Operation
Mayor Andrei Kravchenko said four people were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds elsewhere in the city.
Sources told Kyiv Post that Russian air defenses fired erratically during the attack, with several Pantsir interceptor missiles hitting residential buildings.
Kyiv Post was not able to independently verify the claims.
The latest strike adds pressure on Russia’s most important Black Sea oil hub. On Nov. 14, a massive Ukrainian drone attack forced Novorossiysk to halt all oil intake and exports after the Sheskharis oil-loading terminal was damaged.
Pipeline operator Transneft suspended shipments following the strike.
An SBU source later told Kyiv Post that Alfa special forces, together with HUR, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, the Border Guard Service and Navy missile-artillery units, damaged the terminal’s loading stands, pipeline network and pumping systems, igniting a large fire.
“The SBU continues to cut Russia’s oil revenues that fund the war and weaken the air defenses protecting its key military sites,” an SBU source said.
Since early November, Ukrainian drone strikes have disrupted at least three Russian refineries, in addition to the Sheskharis oil-loading terminal in Novorossiysk, which resumed operations several days after the attack.
Rosneft’s Saratov refinery shut down entirely on Nov. 11 and is not expected to restart before December. Lukoil’s Volgograd refinery was damaged on Nov. 6, and Rosneft’s Tuapse refinery stopped processing on Nov. 3.
Since August, Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure, forcing shutdowns at about 38% of refineries by early October.
The disruptions have caused widespread fuel shortages, prompting Moscow to limit gasoline and diesel sales and import supplies from Belarus, China, and other Asian countries.
Rosstat reported that fuel prices jumped 2.6% in September - the steepest monthly rise since 2018 - with annual inflation at 12.7%, the highest in 14 years.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
