Putin: We will retaliate in kind against any seizure of our ships. Explosions in the port of Novorossiysk

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to seize ships belonging to European countries in response to plans to intercept and seize Russian vessels suspected of being part of Moscow’s “shadow fleet”. “We will be forced to respond in kind,” Putin said whilst overseeing naval exercises in Russia’s Far East, adding that Moscow would act “wherever it deems necessary and appropriate, anywhere”.

Drone attacks were reported overnight in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk and in Russian-occupied Crimea. Residents of Novorossiysk reported repeated explosions as Russian air defences attempted to repel the attack, according to the Kyiv Independent. Russian state media reported that debris from the drones struck six residential buildings, a commercial building and a construction site in Novorossiysk, resulting in casualties. The number of casualties has not yet been disclosed. Novorossiysk, a major Russian port on the Black Sea, is home to a naval base used by the Russian fleet. Russia has transferred a large part of its fleet from occupied Crimea to Novorossiysk, following repeated Ukrainian attacks on Russian warships and naval infrastructure on the peninsula. Explosions have also been reported across occupied Crimea. Further explosions were heard near the Balaklava thermal power station, close to Sevastopol.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated today that Moscow is reportedly planning a mobilisation following the parliamentary elections scheduled for next month in Russia. “This is all confirmed by internal Russian documents: they are preparing for the autumn, immediately after the sham parliamentary elections,” Zelensky said in his evening address.

“Putin’s plan isn’t particularly complicated,” he added. “He wants to create the impression that Russians support the war: every party still authorised to stand is, in one way or another, against peace. And then, following the so-called elections, he plans a further rapid mobilisation of several hundred thousand Russians by the end of the year, and just as many again next year.”

““The Russian contingent in Ukraine is losing at least 30,000 men a month, 60 per cent of whom are being killed,” claimed the Ukrainian leader, “and the overall size of the occupying army on our territory is gradually shrinking, thanks to our operations and, above all, the use of drones”.