![Black Sea , satellite image, May 2004. – Original image caption from Visible Earth collection of NASA: " Phytoplankton blooms and plumes of sediment form the bright blue swirls that ring the Black Sea in this Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image. Sediment flows into the sea through the vast network of rivers that empty into it. The sediment tints the water tan near the mouth of the river and green as the dirt diffuses through the water. In this image, sediment clouds the Sea of Azov in the upper right corner of the image. Two powerful rivers, the Don and the Kuban, flow into the shallow sea, depositing silt in the waters. Sediment is not the only thing that flows into the Black Sea on river water. Some of Europe’ largest rivers also deposit fertilizer from agricultural run-off in the Black Sea, and that feeds frequent phytoplankton blooms. Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that can be seen from space when large colonies grow in one place. Most of the agricultural run-off enters the Sea through the Danube River, the bright green area on the upper left side of the Sea. The water around the river’s mouths is tinted dark green, probably from the growth of surface phytoplankton. The phytoplankton blooms are a problem because their growth and decay can consume all of the available oxygen in a region, creating dead zones where fish cannot live. From the upper left corner, the countries around the Sea are Moldova , Ukraine , Russia , Georgia , Turkey , Bulgaria , and Romania . The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image on May 22, 2004." [data date 2004-05-22, visualization date 2004-05-25]](/assets/images/2026-08-12T21-42-05-088Z-ukrainian-strike-damages-major-russian-grain-terminals-in-novorossiysk-wikimedia-1280.webp)
A significant Ukrainian drone and missile strike on Russia's port of Novorossiysk has damaged two major grain export terminals and targeted the last large Russian naval base on the Black Sea. Local officials reported that three people, including an eight-year-old child, were killed and 24 others injured during the overnight attack.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky described the operation as "unique," involving rockets, jet, and naval drones to strike the Russian base, though he did not specifically mention the grain terminals. Ukraine's military later stated that four Russian warships, including two frigates, were hit. Zelensky posted on social media, "The occupying fleet and all the infrastructure that supports it will not be safe as long as Russian aggression continues."
Most of Russia's Black Sea fleet is now docked in Novorossiysk, one of Russia's largest ports, after relocating from Sevastopol in the Russia-occupied Crimean peninsula due to vulnerability to Ukrainian attacks.
The Russian agriculture ministry announced it is working to redirect cargo flows to ports in the Baltic and Caspian Seas as well as overland routes. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) reported a 23% decrease in exports in July.
Russia's representative, But Zakharova, stated that Russia would continue striking "facilities that [Ukraine's armed forces] use on the Black Sea to destabilise the navigation situation" until "the full elimination of threats to security projected to the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea."
The 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative, under which Russia had agreed to lift its blockade on Ukraine's agricultural exports, collapsed after Moscow resumed attacks on vessels using maritime corridors to Odesa the following year.
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