Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking Black Sea Fleet

This was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces made an unsuccessful attempt to attack Black Sea Fleet ships with a marine drone, which are performing tasks to control navigation in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, 237 km southwest of Sevastopol," the terrorists said in a statement at 11:49 pm.

The Russians claimed that they had allegedly destroyed a Ukrainian naval drone, while their ships continued to carry out their work.

The Ukrainian side has not yet commented on the Russian statement.

Explosions near the Crimean Bridge, damage to a Russian tanker on August 5, and the attack in Novorossiysk: what is known

On the morning of Friday, August 4, residents of the Russian city of Novorossiysk reported explosions. The Russian Defense Ministry said that it was Ukraine that allegedly attacked the naval base in the city with two naval drones.

The governor of the region said that there were no casualties or damage as a result of the attack. It was also noted that the infrastructure of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium was not damaged, oil shipments continue, but ship traffic in the port has been temporarily suspended.

Later, information appeared on the network that the Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship had been hit. In particular, one of the Russian propagandists wrote about this. He claimed that one of the compartments was allegedly flooded, which caused the ship to tip over.

On the night of August 5, powerful explosions were heard near the Crimean bridge, allegedly caused by marine drones.

A representative of the occupation authorities in Zaporizhzhia, Volodymyr Rogov, said that "according to preliminary information, a Russian SIG tanker was damaged as a result of an attack by naval drones in the Kerch Strait." According to the crew, the engine room was damaged. The ship cannot move independently, but there is no fuel leakage. Two tugs were sent to help it.

Immediately after the attack, the Russian occupation authorities had different versions of the events. Volodymyr Rogov wrote on telegram about the explosion near the village of Yakovenkove. 

He added that traffic on the Crimean Bridge was blocked and the lights were turned off due to security measures. However, according to preliminary data, the bridge itself was not damaged. Rogov also emphasized that it was an attack by Ukrainian drones.

Russian telegram channels reported several explosions and the sound of shooting. An air raid alarm sounded in the area of the bridge.

The adviser to the occupying head of Crimea, Oleg Kryuchkov, did not confirm the information about the explosions near the bridge. According to him, the alarm in the Kerch Bridge area was activated only because of the threat of an attack. He also noted that "the loud sounds heard by the residents of Kerch had nothing to do with the Crimean bridge. An attack threat was announced. After all clear signal, the traffic will resume."

Later, Volodymyr Rogov added that the bridge was attacked by surface and aerial drones. Three of them have already been destroyed.

The head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Malyuk, commented on the recent drone attacks on Russian ships and stated that they were completely legal, as they were carried out in the territorial waters of Ukraine. In order to stop explosions in Russia, the SBU head suggested that the Russians should use the only option - "to leave the territorial waters of Ukraine and our land."

Subsequently, Security Service sources told several Ukrainian media outlets that the attack on the Russian SIG tanker was carried out by SBU officers as part of a special operation. The Navy also took part in the operation.

They noted that a surface drone with 450 kg of trotyl was used for the special operation, which was used to blow up the vessel. As a result, the Russian oil tanker SIG, built in 2014 and weighing about 5,000 tons, was damaged near the Crimean bridge.

Later, Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, commented on the recent drone attacks on the territory of Russia and the temporarily occupied Crimea and announced the expansion of the range of combat operations against Russian military targets.

Anton Pavlushko, an analyst at InformNapalm, an international intelligence community, said that there are enough Russian targets in the Black Sea that are constantly engaged in supplying the Russian army.

An August 6 report by the Institute for the Study of War stated that the Ukrainian Navy's strikes on Russian targets were likely part of a deliberate interception campaign aimed at creating favorable conditions for larger counteroffensive operations.