Ukraine hits distant Russian ship showcasing reach of drones

A Ukrainian maritime drone damaged a Russian cruiser in the Black Sea on Friday, indicating both the rising combat at sea and the increased range and capacity of Ukraine's uncrewed vehicles, The New York Times reported.

The drone collided with the ship and detonated its explosive payload at Novorossiysk, a significant naval and shipping base on the Black Sea's northeastern shore, hundreds of miles from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled area.

The Black Sea has been a vital theatre of the war since Russia’s full-scale invasion almost a year and a half ago, with Russian warships there firing cruise missiles at Ukraine, including at targets hundreds of miles inland, and enforcing a blockade of Ukrainian ports. Moscow’s fleet keeps a more cautious distance from Ukraine’s coast since Ukrainian forces sank the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, in April 2022, using missiles fired from shore.

The naval conflict has heated up recently as Ukraine has expanded the size and reach of its drone force. Raising the stakes still higher, Russia withdrew last month from a deal allowing grain ships to pass to and from Ukraine, stepped up its bombardment of Ukrainian ports and made threats against civilian shipping from other nations trying to reach Ukraine. Officials in Kyiv claim that since halting the agreement, Russia has destroyed more than 200,000 tons of grain bound for overseas markets, The New York Times reported.

Three Ukrainian officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss sensitive military matters, said the attack in Novorossiysk was a joint operation of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy. Publicly, Ukraine did not claim responsibility, in keeping with its usual response to attacks within Russia.

One of the officials said the damaged ship was the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a Ropucha-class ship built in the 1970s that can carry heavy cargo like armoured vehicles. Landing ships are designed to deposit troops and equipment directly onshore, enabling amphibious assaults. For that purpose, many of them, including the Ropucha class, open at the bow.

Novorossiysk is an important port for Russia’s own exports of grain as well as other goods, including oil. Movement of ships at the port was temporarily halted, Russian state media said, citing the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, a group that manages oil exports through the port, the New York Times reported.

The drone attacks came as the Kremlin enacted new laws expanding the pool of potential troops to fight in what increasingly looks like a long war that has already caused, by Western estimates, more than 200,000 Russian casualties. A measure signed on Friday by President Vladimir V. Putin raises the top age for conscription from 27 to 30 and prohibits anyone named in a draft notice from leaving the country.