Russia fired surface-to-air missiles into its own residential buildings while responding to a large Ukrainian attack against an oil terminal on the Black Sea, a security source told Business Insider on Tuesday.
A source in the Security Service of Ukraine said that Kyiv attacked the port city of Novorossiysk, Russia’s second-largest oil export center and a hub for its Black Sea Fleet, in the latest strike targeting the country’s energy sector.
During the attack, Russian air defenses in Novorossiysk were active and struck civilian infrastructure, the SBU source said. They were only authorized to speak anonymously to discuss sensitive military developments.
Footage circulating on social media showed surface-to-air missiles launched from what was identified as a Russian Pantsir system striking residential buildings in Novorossiysk, the SBU source added.
It’s unclear if there were any injuries or deaths during the incident. Russia’s defense ministry and its US embassy did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
Friendly fire incidents like this aren’t necessarily unusual. Russia has reportedly accidentally bombed its own territory dozens of times throughout the war.
The SBU source said that long-range drones struck several military and logistics targets in Novorossiysk, including oil terminal infrastructure, and the locations of S-300/S-400 air defense systems. A landing ship was also damaged near the naval base, according to preliminary battle damage assessments.
Other units beyond the SBU, Ukraine’s internal security agency, took part in the attack on Novorossiysk, including the country’s GUR military intelligence agency, Special Operations Forces, and the Unmanned Systems Forces.
In translated remarks shared with Business Insider, the SBU source said that the security agency “continues to methodically reduce Russia’s petrodollar revenues, with which it finances the war against Ukraine, as well as to weaken the enemy’s air defense systems that protect key military and infrastructure facilities of the enemy.”
Andrey Kravchenko head of Novorossiysk via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
Ukraine has been stepping up its attacks on Russian energy facilities since August, hitting a number of sites across the country with dozens of strikes, including against Novorossiysk. Kyiv has targeted the port city repeatedly throughout the war.
Russia’s energy sector is a critical source of revenue for the country, helping fuel its war efforts in Ukraine. Kyiv’s new campaign against oil and gas facilities reflects its efforts to put pressure on Moscow — which relies heavily on exports — and try to choke its main source of income.
The Novorossiysk attack came as the Ukrainian military said it also struck an aircraft repair facility on Tuesday in Taganrog, a city in Russia’s southwestern Rostov region. The site is used to repair Moscow’s airborne early warning aircraft and its strategic bombers.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said that Russia attacked the country with more than 480 missiles and drones overnight. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday morning that at least six people were killed and 13 more were injured in the Kyiv area.
