Explosions were recorded in Novorossiysk overnight on 14 November as Ukrainian forces conducted a combined missile and drone strike on the Russian Black Sea port city, 300-400 km from the southern sections of the frontline in Ukraine. Fires were observed at an oil terminal and military installations, with video footage, satellite imagery, and local reports confirming multiple impact sites across the area.

Ukrainian drones and missiles hit multiple targets in Novorossiysk

The attack began around midnight, with explosions reported in various districts of Novorossiysk in southern Russia's Krasnodar Krai.

Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ published multiple videos and images from the scene. In one of the videos, a woman is heard descibing an explosion she saw before starting to film the video and then reacting to a new sudden blast: “It lit up just like this.”

Eyewitness footage showed significant fires and rising smoke in multiple locations. 

Several videos captured Russian air defense launches, including one missile falling into the sea and another—or the same recorded from the opposite angle—illuminating the horizon.

Posting two clips of a particularly large explosion, Exilenova+ first stated that the strike hit military unit 52522, likely at an ammunition depot, and identified the point of view's coordinates as 44.6714567471, 37.7787317922. An updated post said a suspected S-400 air defense system position was located behind a “Lenta” mall, seen in the clips. Open-source researchers from the Cyberboroshno community stated that S-300 or S-400 positions belonging to military unit 1537 of the Kuban anti-aircraft missile regiment were hit.

Chernomortransneft terminal ablaze, oil exports halted

Videos showed that during the air assault, fires broke out at Transneft's Chernomortransneft oil terminal in the Sheskharis area of Novorossiysk following the aerial attack. The site is a key point in the Transneft pipeline network. NASA’s FIRMS satellite system also recorded numerous fire outbreaks in the Novorossiysk area.

Reuters cited two unnamed industry sources who said that Transneft's oil exports from Novorossiysk were suspended after the attack.

Due to the overnight attack, the airports in Krasnodar and Gelendzhik temporarily suspended operations.

Ukraine reveals new Neptune launcher platform

On 14 November, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published a video showing a modified launcher for the “Long Neptune” cruise missile.

Militarnyi notes that the system is mounted on a Tatra chassis and fitted with square transport-launch containers designed for two longer missiles. Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces used the Long Neptunes successfully overnight against designated targets in Russian territory.

The Ukrainian strikes came amid Russia's massive air and drone attack on Kyiv. Zelenskyy called the Ukrainian strike a “just response to continued Russian terror” and stated that Ukrainian missiles demonstrate growing accuracy and effectiveness each month. 

Russia issues official statements

Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defense forces shot down 66 Ukrainian drones over Krasnodar Krai during the night. 

The emergency task force of Krasnodar Krai acknowledged damage to the oil depot at the Sheskharis transshipment complex and a "civilian" ship in the port — possibly an oil tanker of Russia's "shadow fleet," used to circumvent G7's oil sanctions. 

It also claimed that drone debris have fallen in several areas of the city.

Ukrainian naval drones struck the Russian port of Tuapse in the early hours of 10 November 2025, according to Astra. A ship reportedly caught fire, port infrastructure sustained damage, and residents described powerful explosions. Russian officials initially confirmed the drone boat attack but later deleted parts of their statements.

Drone boats hit Tuapse port, explosion filmed

Maritime drones attacked the port of Tuapse in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai overnight on 10 November. Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+ published footage showing a nighttime explosion in the port area, followed by a separate video where a fire can be seen burning at a distance. In the second clip, a woman behind the camera says, “The ship is on fire.”

Another channel, Exilenova+, later shared better footage of the explosion.

Russian news Telegram channel Astra reported damage to one of the port’s piers. The same outlet cited local accounts of explosions and said the drone danger alert in Tuapse lasted nearly eight hours. A separate analysis from Dnipro Osint identified the likely impact site as pier 167, where a sea drone reportedly detonated. The analysis also mentioned possible damage to a nearby vessel.

Officials first confirmed drone strike, then erased it

The drone strike on Tuapse was initially confirmed by local Russian officials. According to Militarnyi, Sergei Boiko, head of the Tuapse municipal district in Krasnodar Krai, stated in an official message that the port had been attacked by unmanned surface vessels. However, Boiko later edited his statement, removing all references to the drone boats. Despite the revision, the original version remained visible in the Telegram channel of the Krasnodar Krai operations headquarters.

Later that morning, the same headquarters posted a new message claiming that four sea drones had allegedly been neutralized near Tuapse in the Black Sea. It acknowledged that one of the drones detonated near the shoreline, with the resulting blast wave ostensibly damaging a two-story house, a garage, and a boat hangar. Boiko eventually announced the all-clear at 8:00 a.m. Moscow time (7:00 a.m. Kyiv time).

Russia claims 71 drones intercepted across the country

Later in the morning, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air defense systems had allegedly intercepted or downed 71 drones overnight, including seven over the Black Sea. These figures could not be independently verified.

Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse has suspended fuel exports and halted crude oil processing following a Ukrainian drone strike, forcing three tankers to anchor offshore empty while a 3.6-kilometer (2.2-mile) oil slick spreads into the sea.

The Tuapse oil refinery suspended crude processing after the strike damaged port infrastructure. At the same time, three tankers conducting loading operations sit anchored, unable to complete their scheduled exports to Asian buyers, according to Reuters, citing industry sources and LSEG vessel tracking data.

Explore further

Flames light up Tuapse Bay as Ukrainian drones target Russia’s Black Sea oil terminal again

Cumulative campaign

The Tuapse halt exemplifies how Ukraine’s systematic strikes are translating into measurable economic retreat. Ukrainian forces have conducted more than 160 precision strikes on Russian oil refineries and energy facilities in 2025, according to Security Service of Ukraine chief Vasyl Malyuk, who described the operations as “kinetic sanctions.”

BBC Verify documented 21 of Russia’s 38 large refineries struck since January 2025, with attacks reaching record levels in August and remaining elevated through October—already 48% more than all of 2024.

The economic consequences are now appearing: Russia’s fossil fuel revenues in September fell to €546 million ($580 million) per day—half of September 2022 levels—while seaborne oil product exports saw a steep 13% month-on-month decline, which the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air attributed directly to “Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and ports.”

Sanctions amplify strike campaign impact

The timing compounds the pressure: three weeks before the Tuapse strike, the US Treasury sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil, including the RN Tuapse Oil Refinery subsidiary. Major buyers simultaneously pulled back: Indian state refineries reduced their Russian crude imports to the lowest level since May 2022, while Chinese state processors canceled cargoes, potentially affecting 400,000 barrels per day.

BBC satellite imagery analysis captured the damage in Tuapse, revealing an oil slick extending 3.6 kilometers into the Black Sea from a terminal that handles 12 million tons annually and exports 90% of its production, primarily to China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Türkiye—markets central to Russia’s sanctions-evasion network.

From tactical strikes to strategic paralysis

Ukraine’s strategy targets both refining capacity, which produces high-margin products, and export terminals, which generate revenue. SBU chief Malyuk stated on 31 October that strikes have forced a 37% idle rate of refining capacity. By disrupting both processing and export infrastructure, the campaign forces Russia to sell lower-margin crude while reducing absolute volumes.

However, some analysts believe that disruption is temporary. “Down the line, you will see that more and more of the disrupted Russian oil, one way or another, finds its way to the market,” Gunvor Group CEO Torbjörn Törnqvist told Bloomberg. “It always does somehow.”

Facilities that survived previous strikes with temporary disruptions now face operational paralysis as damage accumulates, buyers retreat, and repairs require sanctioned equipment that is unavailable under international restrictions—turning repeated tactical strikes into a strategic economic retreat.

Ukraine has turned a Russian Black Sea base into a burning metal. The Ukrainian Navy has reported that it has struck an elite Russian special forces unit stationed on the occupied Sivash drilling platform near annexed Crimea, Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports. 

Ukrainian drones are driving the Russians from the Black Sea towers

In October 2025, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Russia deployed its naval detachment “Española” to the Boiko Towers.

The group presents itself as Russia’s potential “first maritime private military company” and is reportedly seeking legal status under a future Russian law on private military companies.

According to available information, Española was created under Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of occupied Crimea, to strengthen coastal defense.

Along with Russian surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, a Russian anti-tank missile crew was destroyed,” the Ukrainian Navy reported.

Now, Russian propagandists are attempting to portray this strike as a Ukrainian loss, claiming a Ukrainian Navy boat was destroyed by a Lancet loitering munition.

In reality, Ukrainian forces successfully used a kamikaze drone to hit the occupiers' position.

In the early hours of 2 November 2025, Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Tuapse port, setting a tanker and key oil infrastructure ablaze. Militarnyi reports that the attack targeted a terminal directly tied to the Tuapse oil refinery. Footage from the scene, satellite and OSINT data confirmed widespread fires, while Russian officials later admitted damage to the port's facilities. The terminal, known as the “oil pier” of the Tuapse refinery, is designed for loading petroleum products onto tankers. 

This is not the first time Ukraine has targeted Tuapse. At the end of September, a Ukrainian naval drone attacked the port’s oil infrastructure for the first time, hitting one of the oil-loading piers. Earlier, aerial drones targeted the Tuapse oil refinery several times.

Explosions rock Krasnodar Krai as port burns

According to the Russian news Telegram channel Astra, residents of Krasnodar Krai reported a “large number of explosions” overnight. The regional operational command later confirmed a drone attack, stating that “port infrastructure was damaged with subsequent ignition.” They later added that a tanker and an oil terminal were hit during the assault.

At least three separate fires erupted in the Tuapse seaport area. Astra’s OSINT analysts identified two fires on the deepwater pier complex of RN-Tuapse Marine Terminal LLC and another at an oil-loading pier near the Southern Mole. A possible fourth fire was noted on a dry bulk cargo pier, but lacked confirmed evidence.

Ukrainian OSINT group Cyberboroshno confirmed these reports, saying that a deep-water berth and, likely, an oil-loading pier were hit. Analysts noted that the strike appeared to hit the central cargo trestle, the main node transferring fuel from shore tanks to moored tankers.

Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+ shared satellite heatmaps from NASA FIRMS, concluding that they indicate active fires near piers 3 and 4. The port handles both domestic and export flows of diesel, gasoline, fuel oil, and other products.

Turkish tanker likely among targets as second Tuapse strike confirmed

Andrii Klymenko, head of the Institute for Strategic Black Sea Studies, stated that three tankers were docked near the terminal during the strike — two Greek-flagged vessels (POLLUX and COAST BUSTER) and one Turkish (CHAI). The fire reportedly broke out on CHAI.

Russia claims massive drone interception

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses intercepted or destroyed 39 drones over the Black Sea and 32 over Krasnodar Krai, with a claimed total of 164.

Kyiv has unveiled a new generation of legendary Sea Baby naval drones. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has showcased a next-generation version of its unmanned naval platforms.

Sea Baby hits again: third strike on the Crimean Bridge

“Our drones have changed the balance of power in the Black Sea and proved their effectiveness. The new generation of Sea Baby is even more capable,” says Lieutenant General Vasyl Maliuk, the SBU's chief. 

He stresses that "the work to clear the Black Sea of the Russian fleet will continue."

"The enemy will feel the full force of our technological developments," he claims. 

Brigadier General Ivan Lukashevych, also known as “Hunter” from the SBU, adds that during this year's attack on the Crimean Bridge, the “sea babies” delivered explosives directly to the target, allowing the bridge supports of the illegal structure to be destroyed.

Range and payload: enhanced capabilities of Sea Baby

The new modifications of Sea Baby were developed using funds raised through the Ukrainian crowdfunding platform UNITED24.

Armed to strike: naval firepower on board

The SBU development team presented two drone variants, each equipped with different weapons:

• One fitted with a gyro-stabilized machine gun turret featuring target auto-tracking and recognition.
• Another capable of carrying a 10-tube Grad multiple rocket launcher system.

"SBU is constantly searching for effective tools to maintain Ukraine’s advantage in the Black Sea. The president’s objective is the neutralization of Russia’s powerful Black Sea Fleet, and we are actively working on it,” Lukashevych emphasizes. 

The Security Service continues to develop other advanced weaponry and is already deploying it in the Black Sea, though details remain classified.

The active use of unmanned maritime platforms forced Russia to relocate most of its warships to the port of Novorossiysk and enabled the unblocking of the grain corridor.

The Netherlands and Belgium have delivered two minehunter vessels to Ukraine to support maritime security in the Black Sea, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced on June 26.

"The Netherlands and Belgium are transferring two minehunters to Ukraine. A vital contribution to Black Sea security, and key to safeguarding trade routes and global food supply," Brekelmans said on X. He added that Ukrainian crews and technicians were trained "in record time."

According to the Dutch Defense Ministry, the vessels involved are the Belgian ship BNS Narcis and the Dutch Zr.Ms. Vlaardingen. The official handover ceremony took place earlier in Zeebrugge, Belgium, but was disclosed only later due to security concerns.

"The major ports of Odesa and the Black Sea shipping lanes are the lifeblood of the Ukrainian economy," Brekelmans said. "And (they are) under constant threat. Ukraine may not win the war at sea, but it can certainly lose the war there. We simply cannot let that happen. That is why it is so important for maritime security and free passage that Ukraine can use minehunters."

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the Netherlands has provided Kyiv with a combined 8.4 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in support, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy while Belgium has allocated over two billion euros (about $2.2 billion) in support, including military, financial, and humanitarian assistance.

Putin under pressure to declare war on Ukraine, but experts say Russia isn’t ready

Despite suffering over 1 million casualties, pounding Ukrainian cities nightly with missiles and drones, and committing countless war crimes, one startling fact about Russia’s full-scale invasion remains — Moscow has yet to officially declare war on Ukraine. In February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin described what he believed was going to be a swift victory and the capture of Kyiv within days as a “special military operation.” Nearly three-and-a-half years later, the Kremlin is stuck

The Kyiv IndependentChris York