Another missile carrier has been hit in Russia — the ship Karakurt with missiles on board. A patrol boat and another tanker from the so-called shadow oil fleet were also struck. In addition, the port of Primorsk has been damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported this in a Telegram post. Details were later provided by the Special Operations Forces.
“One more Russian Kalibr carrier down. Major General Yevhen Khmara reported on the successful strike against targets in the port of Primorsk. A joint operation by our Security Service of Ukraine, Unmanned Systems Forces, Special Operations Forces, Defence Intelligence and border guards. Thank you all, warriors, for your coordinated efforts,” the post reads.
The Head of State stated that the missile ship Karakurt, a patrol boat and another tanker from the shadow oil fleet had been struck.
There is also significant damage to the infrastructure of the oil-loading port.
“Every such result of ours limits Russia’s war potential,” Zelenskyy wrote, adding that he had authorised the Security Service of Ukraine to carry out additional “entirely justified responses” to Russian strikes on Ukrainian towns and villages.
“Russia can end this war at any moment. Prolonging it will only lead to an escalation of our defensive operations. Thank you to everyone fighting for Ukraine,” the President emphasised.
The Special Operations Forces reported that the attack took place on the night of 3 May.
Deep-strike units of the Special Operations Forces operated in conjunction with the SBU, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and the State Border Guard Service. The targets struck are located approximately 1,000 kilometres from Ukraine’s northern border.
The small missile ship Karakurt carried a launcher and eight Kalibr cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,000 km. The 67-metre-long vessel was also equipped with a sea-based Pantsir-M anti-aircraft missile and gun system.
Designed for naval combat in coastal waters and on the high seas, the Karakurt was tasked with protecting infrastructure and the oil terminal from Ukrainian drones.
The damaged Primorsk oil terminal, owned by the Russian state-owned company Transneft, is the largest in the Baltic Sea. All pipelines from the north-west of the Russian Federation converge at the terminal, from where oil and gas products are exported by a shadow fleet.
The Special Operations Forces (SSO) emphasised that striking the Russia’s maritime and oil and gas infrastructure reduces its economic and logistical capacity to wage war against Ukraine, as well as its ability to circumvent international sanctions and replenish its budget. The SSO continue asymmetric operations to strategically weaken the enemy in its war against Ukraine.
- Earlier, it was reported that the Ukrainian Defence Forces had struck two tankers belonging to the Russian Federation’s shadow fleet in the waters leading into the port of Novorossiysk.
- Russia also claimed that drones had allegedly attacked the port of Primorsk on the Baltic Sea, one of the country’s key oil export hubs.