Ukrainian anti-ship missiles and drones blitzed a major Russian naval base on the Black Sea coast in a “unique” nighttime operation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday (August 12, 2026).
Key Statements
But Ukrainian officials believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is bent on pressing ahead with the war, despite his bigger Army’s slow and costly progress on the battlefield and U.S. diplomatic efforts to find a settlement.
Political Context
Mr. Russian lawmaker Andrei Gurulyov brushed off reports of a possible autumn mobilisation. The attack struck air defences, piers and other port infrastructure, he added. Veniamin Kondratyev.
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday (August 11) night on social media, citing Ukrainian intelligence reports. Zelenskyy said in a social media post on Wednesday (august 12). Russia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences downed more than 500 Ukrainian drones.
Putin is planning “an additional rapid mobilization of several hundred thousand Russians by the end of the year,” Mr. Those reports have said recently that Russia is expanding production of ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, both of which are hard for Ukrainian air defences to counter. “It is the enemy deliberately spreading rumors about mobilisation in order to destabilize the situation inside Russia,” he was quoted as saying by pro-Kremlin online outlet Tsargrad in comments published on Monday (August 10). The Ukrainian military “carried out a unique operation targeting the naval base in Novorossiysk — the last major stronghold of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea,” Mr. Hundreds of Ukrainian drones attacked Novorossiysk, Anapa, and Gelendzhik and the Temryuk district of the Krasnodar region overnight, said Gov.
