A large-scale Ukrainian drone and missile strike targeted the Russian port city of Novorossiysk on Wednesday, badly damaging grain export terminals and striking what serves as Russia's last major naval base on the Black Sea. The nighttime attack killed three people, including an eight-year-old child, and injured 24 others.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly acknowledged the rocket and underwater drone assault, hailing it as a "unique operation" against the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk. He notably did not address the damage to grain export infrastructure, framing the strike as targeting a military objective.

"The occupying fleet and all the infrastructure that supports it will not be safe as long as Russian aggression continues," Zelensky said.

Many Russian naval assets previously stationed at the fleet's longtime home base of Sevastopol in Crimea were forced to relocate during earlier phases of the war due to frequent Ukrainian strikes on the peninsula. Some vessels have been moved as far as the Caspian Sea for protection.

The attack has forced the suspension of operations at two of Russia's largest grain terminals at Novorossiysk, according to four industry sources cited by Reuters on Wednesday.

"Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter and most of those exports are shipped via its Black Sea ports like Novorossiysk," Reuters reported. "Russia's main grain lobby group warned last month that Ukrainian drone attacks could shut down grain exports via the Black Sea in the near future, pushing up prices and causing hunger in Africa and the Middle East."

The disruption poses a potential threat to global food supplies, particularly for nations on the African continent. Novorossiysk handles a substantial share of Russia's grain exports, and any prolonged shutdown there would tighten available export capacity at a time when global wheat markets remain sensitive to Black Sea supply disruptions — a vulnerability that has persisted since the early months of the war.

Novorossiysk also houses critical oil export infrastructure. Ukrainian forces have intensively targeted Russian oil exports on the grounds that the revenue sustains Russia's military operations. The port hosts the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal, the primary export route for Kazakhstan's crude oil to international markets, making it a chokepoint not only for Russian energy revenue but for Central Asian oil flows as well.

A state of emergency was declared in Novorossiysk following the attack. Two water mains ruptured, damaging the city's water supply system and forcing restrictions on water delivery to residents.

The strike comes despite an earlier indication that Ukraine had suspended attacks on oil tankers using Novorossiysk at the urging of US Vice President JD Vance. According to the Financial Times, which first reported the request, Vance made the appeal in late July citing Ukrainian officials. The request stemmed from the Trump administration's concerns that Ukrainian strikes were destabilizing global fuel markets. Additional concerns centered on the risk to vessels transporting Kazakhstan crude oil to the CPC terminal at Novorossiysk, which serves American company interests.

Whether Washington will increase pressure on Kyiv following this latest attack, or whether such strikes will continue without US objection, remains to be seen.

By Zerohedge.com