On the night of September 9, Ukraine’s Defense Forces carried out a coordinated attack on military and port facilities in the Russian city of Novorossiysk. The targets included a Russian Black Sea Fleet naval base, warships capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles, and terminals used by Russia to export oil and other commodities.
Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed fires at the naval base and the seaport’s fuel oil terminal. Explosions were also recorded in areas where Russian warships are stationed. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the operation struck an oil terminal, military harbor facilities, and vessels capable of launching Kalibr missiles.
“We have achieved results in Novorossiysk in recent days. The naval base was hit: a terminal used for oil loading, military harbor facilities, warships, and Kalibr missile carriers. I thank the warriors of the Security Service of Ukraine, Special Operations Forces, Ukrainian Navy, Defense Intelligence, and State Border Guard Service for their precision,” the president said.
Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said the coordinated strike caused the Novorossiysk naval base to lose several military vessels, including missile carriers.
According to Ukrainian defense company Fire Point, long-range FP-1 drones were used in the attack. The company reported confirmed strikes and a fire at the Novorossiysk fuel oil terminal, which has an annual capacity of about four million metric tons. The KSK grain terminal was also reportedly struck and caught fire, although Ukraine’s General Staff has not separately confirmed this information.
Independent Russian media outlet ASTRA geolocated one of the fires to the Novorossiysk fuel oil terminal using videos filmed by witnesses. Monitoring group Dnipro OSINT reported that at least one storage tank was damaged. Footage published online showed intense flames and thick smoke rising over the port area.
Ukrainian drones simultaneously attacked other military facilities in Russia’s Krasnodar region. According to Brovdi, a Su-33 carrier-based fighter jet and a Mi-8 helicopter were destroyed in Anapa. A Kasta-2E2 radar and a 92N6 radar used by S-300 and S-400 air defense systems were reportedly destroyed near Gelendzhik.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that its forces intercepted 596 drones overnight across 12 Russian regions, Russian-occupied Crimea, and the Black Sea. This figure has not been independently verified.
Authorities in Russia’s Krasnodar region claimed that four people, including a child, were killed in the attack on Novorossiysk. Another 29 people were reportedly injured, three of them seriously. Russian officials also claimed that three private homes, five apartment buildings, a kindergarten, and an Orthodox church were damaged. Ukraine has not commented on these claims.
Novorossiysk is one of Russia’s principal Black Sea export hubs for oil, petroleum products, and grain. After losing access to several bases in temporarily occupied Crimea, Russia relocated a significant portion of its Black Sea Fleet to the city, including vessels used to launch Kalibr missiles at Ukraine.
The moment of an explosion in Novorossiysk during the Ukrainian attack (Photo: Supernova/Telegram)
