Russia’s defence ministry announced early Friday that it had foiled nocturnal Ukrainian strikes on a Black Sea naval base and the Crimean peninsula.
“Tonight, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted an attack on the Russian Armed Forces’ Novorossiysk naval base using two unmanned sea boats”, the ministry wrote on Telegram.
According to the report, Russian ships destroyed the naval drones.
The Black Sea port of Novorossiysk serves as the end of a pipeline that transports the majority of Kazakhstan’s oil exports through Russia.
Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which operates the gasoline artery, said Friday that it was still shipping oil to moored tankers at the terminal.
However, the company stated that a temporary ban on ship movement in the port has been established.
Since the start of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine more than a year ago, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been targeted, but strikes have risen in recent weeks.
Russia’s military ministry said on Tuesday that it had averted a Ukrainian drone attack on patrol vessels in the Black Sea, where tensions have been rising since Moscow pulled out of a treaty to guarantee Ukrainian grain shipments.
A similar attack had been foiled a week before.
The ministry also said on Friday that it had shot down 13 drones over the Crimean peninsula.
According to the government, neither incident resulted in any casualties or damage.
Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, has been attacked by Kyiv throughout Moscow’s Ukraine offensive, but has been subjected to more intensive, intensified attacks in recent weeks.
In July, Ukrainian drone attacks on Crimea blew up an ammunition stockpile and destroyed a strategically important and iconic bridge connecting Russia’s mainland to the peninsula.
Kyiv has stated repeatedly that it intends to retake Crimea, which is a frequent target for its military.
On Sunday, Crimea’s Russian-installed authorities announced the destruction of 25 Ukrainian drones above the peninsula.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Odesa area on the Black Sea coast has been regularly attacked by Russia, according to Kyiv.
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