Ukrainian missiles and drones strike a Russian naval stronghold

Key Points:

• Ukrainian forces launched a "unique" nighttime operation using anti-ship missiles and hundreds of drones to strike the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk, targeting air defenses, piers, and port infrastructure, significantly impacting Russia's Black Sea naval capabilities.
• The attack caused casualties including three deaths, among them an 8-year-old child, and injured 24 others, while damaging residential buildings and industrial plants in the Krasnodar region.
• Russia claims to have shot down over 500 Ukrainian drones during the assault and reported damage to two of Novorossiysk’s three grain terminals, though the key oil terminal there was reportedly not hit.
• Ukrainian President Zelenskyy accused Russian President Putin of planning a large-scale mobilization despite slow progress in the war, while Russian officials deny such plans and dismiss mobilization rumors as Ukrainian misinformation.
• Concurrently, Russia launched a massive drone and missile strike against Ukraine, killing two people and destroying a shopping mall in Zaporizhzhia, while Putin threatened retaliation against Western seizures of Russian oil tankers, calling them acts of piracy.