Unmanned watercraft assault was thwarted in Novorossiysk for a duration of six hours.
In a dramatic turn of events, the city of Novorossiysk in southern Russia was the target of an overnight unmanned boat attack launched by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on July 5th. The six-hour assault on the Russian naval base in the city marked a significant escalation in the ongoing tensions between the two nations.
The attack was a night-long assault by unmanned boats, triggering air raid sirens and a series of explosions heard throughout the night. Authorities responded promptly, activating emergency measures to ensure the safety of residents. This included the sounding of sirens to alert residents, closing traffic routes, particularly the overpass towards the Novorossiysk embankment, and blocking passage over the Kerch Bridge towards occupied Crimea.
Residents near the embankment—from Isaev Street to Suvorovskaya Street—were ordered not to walk along the embankment and to avoid photographing or filming the defensive operations and emergency services. The city’s officials, led by Mayor Andriy Kravchenko, assured the population of maximal readiness of all service units to repel the attack.
Despite the threat, the attack was successfully repelled over several hours until the threat was officially canceled by morning. Mayor Kravchenko emphasized there was no longer any danger to residents by 7:33 a.m. local time and urged calm, while continuing to enforce security measures.
The target of the unmanned boat assault appeared to be the naval base, but the attack was successfully repelled, with 120 Ukrainian aircraft-type drones destroyed and intercepted over Russian territory. One of the intercepted drones was shot down over the Azov Sea, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
This event fits into a broader context of ongoing drone and unmanned vehicle attacks targeting Russian infrastructure and military assets, including other incidents earlier on July 5 involving drones attacking locations in Russia.
Mayor Kravchenko thanked the military for their prompt response and protection of the city, and residents and guests were asked to take shelter in windowless buildings. Promenade walks were temporarily banned in Novorossiysk, and traffic on the Crimean Bridge was halted due to the emergency.
Residents of the first coastal line were urged to take shelter until it was safe, and traffic in Novorossiysk from Isaev Street to Suvorov Street was halted. A threat of unmanned boat attack was reported in Novorossiysk, and sirens sounded along the first coastal line of Novorossiysk during the threat.
The aviation hazard in the Krasnodar region was lifted around the same time, and at 6:33, Mayor Andrei Kravchenko announced the cancellation of the alert. The Prosecutor's Office has taken control of delays in incoming flights to Sochi, not related to the events in Novorossiysk.
Overall, the city of Novorossiysk and its residents demonstrated resilience in the face of this unexpected attack, with Mayor Kravchenko emphasizing that there was no longer any danger to residents by morning. The prompt response and protection by the military, coupled with the understanding and cooperation of the city's residents, ensured the successful repelling of the attack.
The attack on the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, despite escalating general-news tensions between Russia and Ukraine, was successfully repelled following a night-long attempt by unmanned boats. This incident, part of a broader pattern of drone and unmanned vehicle attacks on Russian infrastructure and politics, underlines the need for continued vigilance and cooperation.
