- A Ukrainian sea drone full of explosives struck a Russian fuel tanker near a Crimea bridge.
- Another sea drone attack on Russia’s navy base at Novorossiysk damaged a warship on Friday.
- Russia on Saturday said it captured a settlement in northeastern Ukraine, where Kyiv has reported increased attacks.
A Ukrainian sea drone full of explosives struck a Russian fuel tanker overnight near a bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea, the second such attack in 24 hours, both sides said on Saturday.
No one was hurt, but the Crimean Bridge and ferry transport were suspended for several hours, according to Russian-installed officials in Crimea, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014.
A Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters that the drone with 450 kg of explosives hit the SIG vessel as it transported fuel for the Russian military in Ukrainian territorial waters.
“The tanker was well loaded with fuel, so the ‘fireworks’ were seen from afar,” the source said, of the joint operation by Ukraine’s navy and security service.
Kyiv says destroying Russia’s military infrastructure inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine is crucial to its counteroffensive after the February 2022 invasion.
Another sea drone attack on Russia’s navy base at Novorossiysk damaged a warship on Friday, the first time the Ukrainian navy had projected its power so far from its shores.
The SIG tanker had been supplying oil to Russian troops in Syria, according to Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia.
The United States imposed sanctions on the tanker and its owner, St. Petersburg-based Transpetrochart, in 2019 for helping provide jet fuel in Syria.
‘Completely legal’
Vasyl Malyuk, head of Ukraine’s SBU security service, did not directly confirm the latest attack but said any incident with Russian ships or the Crimean bridge was “an absolutely logical and efficient step towards the enemy”.
“Moreover, such special operations are conducted in the territorial waters of Ukraine and are completely legal,” Malyuk said on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia’s Novorossiysk Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying there was no fuel spill from the SIG, as the ship had been carrying only technical ballast. Recovery work was underway with two tugboats nearby.
Rogov posted an audio clip on Telegram in which the SIG requested a tow. He also posted pictures of what he described as shattered fixtures and equipment inside the vessel.
“The SIG tanker … received a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, preliminarily as a result of a sea drone attack,” Russia’s Federal Marine and River Transport agency said in a statement on Telegram.
The Moscow-installed authorities in Crimea said the bridge, which was completed by Russia in 2018 and has come under serious attack twice in the war, was not targeted.
Russia ‘seizes’ settlement in northeast Ukraine
Meanwhile Russia on Saturday said it captured a settlement in northeastern Ukraine, where Kyiv has reported increased attacks.
“In the area of Kupiansk, as a result of the competent and professional actions of the military units of the Western command, the settlement of Novoselivske was liberated,” the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.
It added “offensive operations on a broad front… improved the situation” of Russian forces.
On Friday the Ukrainian army said it was confronted with a growing number of attacks in the east.
“The number of enemy attacks has increased. Heavy fighting is taking place,” army spokeswoman Ganna Malyar said on Telegram.
Malyar said Russian troops were aiming to draw Ukrainian resources to that area, as Ukraine is pursuing its counteroffensive in the south.
“In the Kupiansk sector, the enemy has set itself the goal of regaining the territories lost last fall,” Malyar said.
Late summer and autumn 2022, Ukraine retook swathes of territory around southern Kherson and northeastern Kharkiv in rapid counteroffensives.
Ukraine began another push in June but is now contending with well-entrenched Russian defensive positions built over several months.
Late July, Russia said it seized the village of Sergiivka in the eastern Donetsk region.
– additional reporting by AFP
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