Ukraine strikes Russian grain terminals at Black Sea port of Novorossiysk

Ukraine launched a massive drone and missile barrage on Russia's port of Novorossiysk, damaging two major grain export terminals and hitting the last significant Russian naval base on the Black Sea, according to BBC News.

Three people, including an eight-year-old child, were killed and another 24 injured in the overnight attack on the port and surrounding areas, per local officials cited by BBC News. An emergency situation was declared in Novorossiysk on Wednesday after the barrage of drones struck areas around the port and damaged pipelines, suspending water supply for the city, according to BBC News. Regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said a man was killed by drone debris elsewhere in the region and several locations in the surrounding Krasnodar region were struck by "several hundred drones" overnight, with dozens of buildings damaged including homes, per BBC News.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had launched rockets, jets and naval drones in a "unique operation" to strike the Russian base, although he did not mention grain terminals being hit, according to BBC News. Ukraine's military said four Russian warships, including two frigates, were hit in the attack, per BBC News.

Grain trading companies confirmed to Russian state news agency TASS and international outlets Reuters and RBK that their terminals had been hit in the attack on Wednesday, according to BBC News. Russia has not commented on the grain terminal damage, per BBC News.

Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter, but according to a Moscow-based analytics company cited by BBC News, exports for August could fall by more than half compared to the same month over the last five years due to the disruption in the Black and Azov seas. The Russian agriculture ministry announced Wednesday it was working to redirect cargo flows to ports in the Baltic and Caspian Seas as well as land routes, stating it was "taking into account current logistical constraints," per BBC News. Most of Russia's Black Sea fleet is now docked in Novorossiysk after it was forced to vacate its former home base of Sevastopol in the Russia-occupied Crimean peninsula, which became too exposed to Ukrainian attacks, according to BBC News.

Russia launched aerial overnight strikes that killed at least 11 civilians in Ukraine between Tuesday and Wednesday, with the majority killed when Russia hit the southern city of Zaporizhzhia with ballistic missiles and glide bombs, per BBC News. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of carrying out strikes on Russian grain and agricultural infrastructure, claiming this resulted in a hike in global food prices and growing grain shortages, according to BBC News. Zakharova said Russia would continue striking "facilities that Ukraine's armed forces use on the Black Sea to destabilise the navigation situation" until "the full elimination of threats to security projected to the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea," per BBC News.

Together, Russia and Ukraine account for a significant share of global grain trade, particularly for buyers in North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, according to BBC News. In July, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club reported a 23 percent decrease in exports, per BBC News. The 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative, under which Russia agreed to lift its blockade on Ukraine's agricultural exports, did not last after Moscow resumed attacks on vessels using the maritime corridors to Odesa the following year, according to BBC News.