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Ukraine struck Russia's Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk with drones and missiles overnight on August 12, killing three people and forcing two of Russia's largest grain terminals to halt operations, Al Jazeera reported. A child was among the dead, regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said, and at least 24 people were wounded.
Ukraine's SBU security service described the strike as strategically significant. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said two frigates, a large landing ship, a corvette and other vessels were hit at the Novorossiysk naval base. Ukrainian forces used jet-powered drones, missiles and unmanned naval systems against air defense positions, piers and seaport infrastructure, he said. Russia moved most of its Black Sea Fleet to Novorossiysk earlier in the war, after repeated Ukrainian strikes on its main base at Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.
Mayor Andrei Kravchenko said the port declared an emergency and suspended its water supply. Four enterprises, more than two dozen residential buildings and some educational facilities were damaged. "Novorossiysk endured a horrific night," he wrote on Telegram. Russia's Defense Ministry said it downed 502 Ukrainian drones overnight, and more than three dozen were shot down over Sevastopol.
The damage reached global markets within hours. Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter, and most of its grain ships from Black Sea terminals. Chicago wheat futures rose around 3 percent on Wednesday, Reuters reported, and Russia's agriculture ministry said it was working to redirect exports to alternative routes. Russia's main grain lobby warned last month that continued Ukrainian attacks could shut down Black Sea grain exports, pushing up prices and causing hunger in Africa and the Middle East.
Grain is now under pressure from both directions. Ukraine's agriculture ministry said its own shipments fell 76 percent in the first two weeks of August compared with a year earlier, after Russian strikes on its ports. Kyiv and Moldova agreed on Wednesday to a plan for routing Ukrainian grain by rail through Moldova.
Novorossiysk also hosts the Caspian Pipeline Consortium oil terminal, which is part-owned by Chevron and Exxon Mobil and carries Kazakh crude to market. The Financial Times reported that Ukraine agreed in late July not to target the consortium's infrastructure or non-Russian vessels, following a request from US Vice President JD Vance. The attack extends a naval campaign that has run for more than a month against Russian vessels in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
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