Ukrainian forces have hit a Russian Black Sea naval stronghold, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Aug. 12, using a range of drones and missiles.
In a post on X, the Ukrainian president said his country’s defense forces targeted the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, which he described as “the last major stronghold of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea,” more than 180 miles from the front line.
Zelenskyy said that forces used Neptune missiles, Palianytsia jet-powered drones, and unmanned naval systems, confirming hits on seaport infrastructure, piers, and air defense positions.
“I thank the warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, and our intelligence agencies for their accuracy and good results,” Zelenskyy said.
“The occupation fleet and all the infrastructure supporting it will not be safe as long as Russian aggression continues. The war must be stopped, and all reasonable proposals for diplomacy are on the table.”
Moscow moved some of its Black Sea fleet to Novorossiysk after Kyiv’s military forces repeatedly attacked them when they were based in Crimea.
Veniamin Kondratyev, the governor of the Krasnodar region where Novorossiysk is located, said that the area was subjected to a “massive airstrike” by several hundred Ukrainian drones, resulting in 24 injuries and three deaths, including an 8-year-old.
“Most of the strikes hit Novorossiysk, damaging approximately 60 residential buildings,” Kondratyev said in a Telegram post, with homes also being damaged in Gelendzhik, Anapa, and the Temryuk district.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that overnight, its air defense forces intercepted and destroyed 502 Ukrainian drones flying over several regions, including Belgorod, Krasnodar, Crimea, and the Black Sea.
The ministry outlined its own offensive operations, saying in a post on Telegram that the Russian Armed Forces “continue to strike Ukrainian port infrastructure and naval vessels deployed on behalf of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
“Overnight, high-precision air-launched weapons and long-range attack drones struck a fuel and lubricants depot in the port of Odesa, which supplies fuel to Ukrainian Armed Forces units,” the ministry said.
The Ministry of Defense said in an Aug. 12 post that throughout the day, the armed forces continued to strike port infrastructure and naval vessels in Ukrainian territory.
It said that air-launched precision weapons and attack drones struck in the port of Chernomorsk, hitting port infrastructure and fuel tanks used for unloading and storing military cargo.
Zelenskyy’s Proposals for Ending War
Zelenskyy said on Aug. 11 that he had handed proposals to U.S. negotiators for a plan to end the war, which started when Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in February 2022.“We passed our proposals to the American side,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Aug. 11.
“America can help strengthen our defense, first and foremost through air defense, and it can put pressure on Russia so that its plans change–from prolonging the war to preparing to end it.”
The Ukrainian president did not offer any details about the proposals.
Moscow had already annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.