Ukraine Launches Drone Attack on Port of Berdyansk

On Thursday, Ukrainian forces hit the occupied port of Berdyansk with repeated drone strikes, resulting in unspecified damage. It is the second time this week that Ukraine has targeted Russian assets in the area. 

Local residents reported explosions in the port area beginning at about 0600 hours, accompanied by the sound of Russian air defenses. Ambulance activity was also reported near the seaport, and Russian occupation authorities advised residents to remain at home and avoid travel. 

"There were at least six hits, mostly near the port area. Smoke, ambulances, and certain streets in the city center leading to the port are closed off. The occupiers claim everything is fine and under control, yet they declared a day off and advised everyone to stay home, supposedly because everything is ‘indeed’ under control," Berdiansk council-in-exile member Viktor Dudukalov told local media. 

On October 28, Ukrainian military intelligence agency HUR claimed that a sabotage group had destroyed a small rail bridge over a road near Berdyansk. The action to sever the rail bridge cut off fuel and weapons supplies to Russian forces in the port city, according to HUR. 

Ukraine has launched large-scale strikes on the port before. It destroyed the Russian amphib Sarotov at the pier in Berdyansk in March 2022, and it damaged two others, the Tsezar Kunikov and Novocherkassk. 

The port of Berdyansk was captured by Russia in February 2022, at the outset of the invasion. It is now a hub for Russian occupation forces, especially for shipping Ukrainian farmers' grain out of the occupied territory, according to Kyiv. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia exports millions of tonnes of grain from seized farms in eastern Ukraine every year, primarily to customers in Russian-allied Syria and Iran. The Wall Street Journal estimates that Russia has earned at least $1 billion in profits from Ukrainian grain theft since the launch of the invasion in 2022.