On August 12, following the Defense Forces’ overnight operation against the naval base and port in Novorossiysk, Minister of Defense Yevhen Khmara outlined Ukraine’s long-range strike strategy: destroying infrastructure, the fleet, logistics, fuel and energy facilities, and enemy defense industry enterprises to the point where the Russian military machine physically cannot function.
On the night of August 12, the Defense Forces launched a combined strike against Black Sea Fleet of the RF assets and the port infrastructure of Novorossiysk — the last major stronghold of the Russian fleet on the Black Sea following the loss of Crimea as a logistics hub. The operation simultaneously employed missiles, jet drones, and unmanned surface vessels. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, more than 15 different strike systems were synchronously used in a single operation for the first time.
Among the types of weapons reported in connection with the strike were Neptune cruise missiles (including the Long Neptune modification), Peklo and Bars missiles, Palianytsia jet drones, and strike unmanned surface vessels. This combination made it possible to simultaneously overcome several echelons of Russian air defense and coastal defense, preventing countermeasures from being dispersed across individual threat types.
According to confirmed data, at least four RF warships were hit, including the frigates Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov. Both are Kalibr cruise missile carriers and have already been targeted multiple times in Ukrainian attacks this year. Also reported among the targets were the patrol vessel Vasily Bykov, a Buyan-M class small missile ship, and several auxiliary vessels — including a research ship that the RF uses for weapons testing and fleet underwater operations.
The strike also affected civilian export infrastructure: according to OSINT analysts, the port’s grain, fuel oil, and oil export terminals were damaged. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine specified that the operation was conducted at a distance of more than 300 km from the front line, with targets including berths, naval base infrastructure facilities, and air defense positions.
Commenting on the results of the operation, the Minister of Defense emphasized that the RF proved powerless against the synchronized employment of various Ukrainian strike systems, and described the strike itself as the result of a synergy that is growing within the Defense Forces. According to him, intensifying deep strikes against RF territory remains one of the key priorities.