- Four killed, including a child, in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk
- Governor Kondratyev says 29 others were wounded and only civilian sites were hit in the attacks
- Russia's Defense Ministry reports intercepting 596 Ukrainian drones overnight across the country and in Crimea
- Nearby resort towns Anapa and Gelendzhik also suffered drone damage, but there were no casualties
- Zelensky's renewed push for a Black Sea truce comes as Kyiv's own strikes keep hitting Russian civilians
A large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk killed four people, including a child, and wounded 29 others overnight, regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said Wednesday. Kondratyev said the strikes hit only civilian areas of the city. Russian air defenses intercepted 596 Ukrainian drones over a 12-hour period spanning Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, the Defense Ministry reported.
Novorossiysk has been a recurring target of Kyiv's long-range strike campaign, which has aimed to disrupt Russian maritime trade far from the front lines. In June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered a mass escalation of strikes on Russian shipping as part of what Kyiv called a "40-day pressure campaign" meant to inflict further economic damage on Moscow. Russia responded by ramping up its own long-range strikes, a tit-for-tat that has left Ukraine largely cut off from maritime trade.
Civilian sites damaged in Novorossiysk and nearby resorts
Kondratyev emphasized that only civilian areas were struck in the assault. Damage was reported at a church, a kindergarten, three private homes, and five apartment blocks across Novorossiysk. Three of the 29 injured victims remain in serious condition, the governor said. Ukrainian drone debris also damaged homes in the nearby resort town of Anapa, located roughly 40 kilometers northwest of Novorossiysk, though no casualties were reported there. In Gelendzhik, another resort town southeast of Novorossiysk, Mayor Aleksey Bogodistov described the overnight raid as the "most massive and lengthy" drone attack his city has faced, although he noted no injuries.
Russia's Defense Ministry reports massive drone interception
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces intercepted 596 Ukrainian drones overnight, spanning territory across Russia and annexed Crimea. The interception count reflects the scale of Ukraine's ongoing long-range strikes on Russian territory. Airports in more than a dozen Russian regions introduced temporary flight restrictions amid the cross-country drone activity, disrupting travel far beyond the immediate strike zone. Novorossiysk has long been a strategic target for Kyiv, since the port serves as one of the main channels through which Russian oil, fuel, and grain reach international buyers.
Zelensky's Black Sea ceasefire calls go unanswered by Kyiv's own strikes
The attack on Novorossiysk comes as fighting grinds on across multiple fronts with no ceasefire in sight. Zelensky has repeatedly called for a pause in hostilities in the Black Sea, arguing it would benefit global food supply chains, even as Ukrainian forces continue launching the drone strikes driving that instability. Russia and Ukraine are both major global wheat exporters, meaning continued attacks on shipping lanes carry consequences well beyond the battlefield.
A Turkey-mediated agreement early in the war had guaranteed safe shipping lanes in the Black Sea and required inspections of incoming cargo vessels to screen for weapons. Moscow withdrew from that deal after accusing Kyiv of exploiting the designated safe routes to launch naval drone attacks on Russian ports — the same type of strike that hit Novorossiysk overnight. That history makes Zelensky's renewed calls for a Black Sea truce a hard sell in Moscow: the last safe-passage arrangement, Russian officials argue, became cover for exactly the kind of attack that just killed a child and wounded 29 people.
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