On Friday, November 14th, the main port of Novorossiysk located along the coast of the Black Sea in Russia was forced to suspend its oil exports due to a large-scale drone attack by Ukraine, marking one of the most significant assault operations by Kyiv on Russian oil infrastructure in recent times.
According to Reuters, Ukrainian President Zelensky stated on Friday that Ukrainian forces launched long-range “Long Neptune” cruise missiles towards targets within Russia during the night. He claimed that such strikes are becoming “increasingly successful,” but did not disclose specific target information.
Industry sources revealed to Reuters that Ukraine’s drone attacks led to the temporary halt of oil supply by the Russian national oil pipeline transportation company, Transneft, to the port. Additionally, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which exports oil from Kazakhstan via a pipeline located about 15 kilometers south of the port, also temporarily suspended oil loading operations for several hours until the drone attack alert was lifted.
Russian officials reported that Ukraine’s drone attack on Friday also damaged a ship docked at the port, resulting in injuries to three crew members on board. Furthermore, an apartment building and an oil tank were also damaged in the assault.
According to Interfax, fragments of the drones were found on the grounds of the grain terminal NKHP in Russia, which has since resumed normal operations, as revealed by General Manager Yury Medvedev.
Novorossiysk serves as a crucial hub for Russia’s commodity exports. In October, the port handled a total of 3.22 million tons of crude oil, averaging 761,000 barrels per day. The cumulative volume of crude oil transported through the port in the first ten months of the year stood at 24.716 million tons. In October, 1.794 million tons of oil products were exported through the port, bringing the total export volume for the first ten months to 16.783 million tons.
Following the drone attack, global oil prices briefly surged by around 2% due to supply concerns. By 08:15 GMT, the price increase had narrowed to just under 1%.
The recent assault is one of the largest attack operations conducted by Kyiv on Russian oil export infrastructure in recent months. Previously, Ukraine intensified its strikes on Russian refineries in August, targeting Baltic and Black Sea ports, main pipeline systems, and several refineries in an effort to weaken Moscow’s ability to fund the war.
Zelensky had previously cited Western government intelligence on October 27, announcing that Ukrainian long-range strikes had significantly reduced Russia’s refining capacity by 20%, dealing a heavy blow to Moscow’s funding chain for sustaining the ongoing conflict.
The Ukrainian President also highlighted that over 90% of the long-range weapons used in deep strike operations on Russian territory were domestically manufactured in Ukraine. The primary targets of these attacks were critical energy infrastructure across Russia, as Ukraine aims to disrupt Moscow’s revenue sources that have fueled its nearly four-year long invasion military operations.