Huge drone assault on Novorossiysk, Tuapse and Sevastopol. What is thought

Photograph by Dmitry Feoktistov/TASS

Photograph caption, Novorossiysk. Archive photograph

Could 17, 2024

Novorossiysk within the Krasnodar area and Sevastopol in annexed Crimea have been hit by huge drone assaults, Russian authorities stated. As well as, drones hit an oil refinery in Tuapse, and a automobile was hit close to Belgorod, killing a lady and her four-year-old son. That is essentially the most huge raid because the starting of the struggle.

On Friday night time, three areas of Russia and the annexed Crimea have been attacked by greater than 100 drones, in accordance with a message from the Russian Ministry of Protection.

In accordance with the assertion, 51 kamikaze drones have been destroyed or intercepted over the territory of Crimea, 44 drones over the Krasnodar area, six extra drones have been shot down or intercepted over the Belgorod area and one over Kursk, the army division claims.

Earlier, regional authorities reported drone assaults. The Ukrainian facet has not formally commented on these statements, and the BBC can not independently verify them.

A supply of the Ukrainian BBC service within the safety forces claims that the SBU and the principle intelligence division of the Ministry of Protection of Ukraine are behind the assaults on Sevastopol, the port of Novorossiysk and the Tuapse oil refinery.

Huge assault on Novorossiysk and a strike on the oil refinery in Tuapse

Within the Krasnodar Territory, Novorossiysk and Tuapse got here beneath assault. The governor of the area, Veniamin Kondratyev, stated at night time that in the course of the assault on Novorossiysk, greater than 10 drones have been suppressed and “native fires arose.”

The Telegram channel “Warning, Information” claims that greater than 30 explosions have been heard in the course of the huge assault on the town. “From about three o’clock within the morning we heard photographs and explosions. At 4 within the morning the air raid siren was turned on,” an area resident advised the channel. — Pictures and explosions [звучат] till now, and it’s 5 within the morning.”

In accordance with the channel’s interlocutor, this was essentially the most huge assault within the metropolis because the starting of Russia’s struggle in opposition to Ukraine. The air raid sign in Novorossiysk was canceled solely after 7:00. Till this time, public transport had not began working, and metropolis residents have been requested to not depart their houses “neither for varsity nor for work.”

The authorities didn’t say what the aim of the assault in Novorossiysk was. The Astra telegram channel claims that the Novorossiysk gasoline oil terminal and one other gasoline tank, in addition to two oil depots, have been broken, however there have been no casualties. The authorities haven’t commented on this declare and the BBC can not confirm it.

In one other Black Sea metropolis within the Krasnodar Territory, drones attacked the Tuapse Oil Refinery (owned by Rosneft), which has been the goal of drones greater than as soon as, as produce other oil refining amenities in Russia. Eyewitnesses filmed a video of a drone crash and a fireplace on the territory of the plant.

There have been two drones in whole; because of the autumn of one among them, a fireplace occurred on the territory of the oil refinery; there have been no casualties, the operational headquarters of the regional administration reported. The fireplace was localized at night time and was utterly extinguished solely after 9:00.

Massive-scale assault on Sevastopol

In annexed Sevastopol, courses in colleges, faculties and kindergartens have been canceled as a consequence of rolling energy outages, because the Sevastopol substation was broken after an enormous assault on the town, in accordance with a press release by Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev (Russia annexed Crimea in 2014).

It would take a minimum of a day to totally restore operation of the substation, authorities warned.

Razvozhaev claims that “dozens of UAVs” and greater than 5 unmanned boats have been destroyed in the course of the assault on Sevastopol. The Ministry of Protection reported that in the course of the night time six unmanned boats have been destroyed by naval aviation and patrol boats of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Naval drones attacked Crimea and the day earlier than, Could 16, the Russian army introduced 15 downed targets.

These killed close to Belgorod

A girl and her four-year-old son have been killed in a drone strike close to Belgorod, stated Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. “Within the village of Oktyabrsky, a kamikaze drone attacked a automobile through which there have been a driver and three passengers (mom, father and baby),” he wrote in his Telegram channel.

In accordance with Gladkov, because of the explosion, the girl died on the spot, and the kid died within the hospital. “With out ready for the ambulance, the daddy, baby and driver drove by passing automobiles to a medical facility within the metropolis of Belgorod. The kid was in crucial situation. Medical doctors did every little thing potential to avoid wasting him, however his accidents have been incompatible with life,” the governor stated.

“One other drone attacked a fuel station close to the village of Bessonovka. Because of the explosion, one of many tanks caught hearth. Fireplace crews shortly extinguished the hearth,” Gladkov added.

This isn’t the primary huge drone raid on Russian areas. On the night time of March 12, a minimum of 9 areas of Russia have been attacked by Ukrainian drones, Russian authorities and army officers stated. Within the Nizhny Novgorod area, a fireplace broke out on the Lukoil oil refinery, in Orel there was a fireplace at an oil depot, and in Belgorod a drone crashed into the administration constructing. Ukraine additionally didn’t formally touch upon these assaults.

On March 12, the Russian Ministry of Protection introduced the destruction and interception of 25 drones. On April 27, there was a brand new huge assault, and the Russian army division reported 66 drones destroyed and intercepted. All of them have been launched within the Krasnodar Territory; the Slavyansk Oil Refinery was broken because of the assault.

The raid, involving greater than 100 drones, now comes amid a Russian army offensive within the northern Kharkov area.

On Friday night time, Russia attacked Ukraine with 20 Shahed-type kamikaze drones, all of them have been shot down, in flip, the Air Drive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces declare.

Essentially the most huge raid because the starting of the struggle

Assaults by Ukrainian drones have gotten an increasing number of huge, states army observer for the BBC Russian Service Ilya Abishev

The night time raid of kamikaze UAVs on oil and power amenities within the Krasnodar Territory and annexed Crimea turned essentially the most huge because the starting of the struggle.

On Friday morning, the Russian Ministry of Protection introduced that it had repelled an assault by 102 drones. It’s reported that the Tuapse oil refinery, the Transneft terminal, the gasoline oil terminal and port in Novorossiysk, and the substation in Sevastopol have been attacked.

From Novorossiysk it’s greater than 400 km to the closest level on the entrance line in Ukraine, from Tuapse – nearly 550. The low-speed drone covers this distance in a couple of hours and for essentially the most half flies over Russian-controlled territory or waters, as well as there was an entire swarm of them – that’s there isn’t a want to speak a couple of sudden blow.

All attacked places have beforehand been topic to drone strikes and, logically, must be coated by an on-site air protection system. Nonetheless, video footage on social networks exhibits “arrivals” and powerful fires, eyewitnesses and Russian “army correspondents” verify hits on targets, and native operational headquarters additionally report “fires.”

Apparently, numbers performed a job. In accordance with info from open sources, Ukrainian business has reached such a quantity of manufacturing of medium- and long-range assault drones that it permits organizing a breakthrough of the Russian air protection system as a consequence of their huge simultaneous use. As well as, the air strike was synchronized with an tried assault by unmanned boats within the Black Sea.

Russian amenities associated to the refining and transportation of petroleum merchandise stay the precedence targets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which implies that as unmanned weapons accumulate, such assaults could also be repeated. The Russian military operates in a lot the identical approach.

Taking into consideration the relative cheapness of assault UAVs, an correct hit of even one out of 20 at a strategic facility, resembling an oil terminal, greater than pays for the price of assembling the whole batch and may be thought-about a profitable operation.

Within the case of Tuapse, Novorossiysk and Sevastopol, Russian air protection faces the identical difficulties because the Ukrainian one within the protection of Odessa and Ochakov. The proportion of air targets shot down over port cities is decrease than over the mainland, since making a layered air protection system from the ocean is kind of problematic. That is, at a minimal, a really pricey endeavor – though repairs to refineries and downtime at marine terminals can price much more.