Footage shows naval drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea portpublished at 10:34 BST
Paul Brown
BBC Verify senior journalist
We’ve verified footage showing what appears to be a second naval drone attack on one of Russia’s Black Sea ports. The attack – at Tuapse in Russia’s Krasnodar Territory – led to an explosion at a pier linked to an oil refinery.
Footage posted yesterday evening shows naval drones being launched towards the port just before the blast. At present the level of damage is unclear, but we’ll keep a look out for satellite imagery of the area.
The incident came hours after a similar naval assault on the port of Novorossiysk, home to some vessels of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. In that assault we saw what appeared to be a naval drone being blown up as it approached the docks.
The Tuapse refinery is operated by state-owned Rosneft Oil Company, and has been a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks, but mostly by aerial drones.
The image below shows the damage to a large tank following a drone attack on 14 March. Attacks on oil infrastructure have been a key feature of Ukraine’s war effort, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying such strikes are “the most effective sanctions” against Russia.
Image source, Planet Labs PBCSource link
