Ukraine may have launched its largest drone attack ever: report

• Ukraine may have launched its biggest drone attack ever, per the Kyiv Independent.
• Russia shot down a total of 102 aerial and six naval sea drones overnight, it said.
• Two of its major ports, Sevastopol and Novorossiysk, were affected, per reports.

Ukraine appears to have launched its biggest drone attack ever, with reports of explosions at two major Russian ports.

In a Telegram post, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 51 drones over Crimea, 44 drones over the Krasnodar region, and six drones over the Kursk region on Thursday night.

It also said its naval aviation and Black Sea Fleet patrol boats destroyed six uncrewed surface vessels, or USVs, in the Black Sea.

This would amount to a total of 102 aerial and six naval drones shot down in just one night, and if true, would be Ukraine’s largest drone attack since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to the Kyiv Independent.

Business Insider couldn’t independently verify these numbers.

The independent Russian media outlet Astra, citing its own sources and footage, reported drones hit at least two oil depots and two terminals in the port city of Novorossiysk and neighboring villages on Thursday night.

Novorossiysk residents told the outlet that more than 35 explosions occurred in the city, causing power outages. The outlet shared multiple videos of what appeared to be the blasts.

The outlet also shared a photo of a refinery on fire in Tuapse, east of Novorossiysk.

Veniamin Kondratyev, the regional governor, said Russian air defense forces shot down more than 10 drones over Novorossiysk on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Russian forces shot down dozens of drones and more than five sea drones in the port of Sevastopol last night, with drone debris hitting the city’s substation and causing power outages, Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russian-installed regional governor, said in a Telegram post.

A video shared by Astra appears to show blasts in Sevastopol. BI could not independently verify the footage in the reports.

The Security Service of Ukraine SBU and Ukraine’s intelligence agency GUR launched a joint operation to strike Russian military and logistics facilities in Novorossiysk and occupied Sevastopol, the Associated Press reported, citing an unnamed Ukrainian intelligence official.

Ukraine has ramped up attacks on Russian warships in occupied Crimea, inflicting significant losses on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and forcing it to relocate some maritime activities to Novorossiysk.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the UK Armed Forces, said in February that 25% of Russia’s Black Sea boats had been sunk or damaged.

The fleet was “functionally inactive” after Ukraine claimed to have struck two of its ships in March, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said at the time.

Satellite images from April shared by the UK’s MoD showed Russia upgrading the defenses of its Black Sea Fleet naval base in Novorossiysk, confirming that most of its ships and submarines have been relocated further eastwards.

Ukraine’s GUR did not immediately reply to a request for comment by BI.