On August 14th, Ukraine carried out one of its most daring attacks against Russia of the entire war. However, the attack didn’t target an important oil refinery or military airfield. Ukraine hit a vital port on the Caspian Sea and targeted a ship it said was transporting drone parts.
According to a statement from the Ukrainian General Staff at the time, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces working in collaboration with Ukrainian Defense Forces attacked the port of Olya in Astrakhan. The strike partially sank a cargo vessel used to transport valuable Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle parts and munitions.
Used to import Iranian arms and munitions
The Kyiv Independent noted that the port of Olya is used by Russia to receive weapons, munitions, and drone parts from Iran. However, the strike was the first direct attack of its kind made on the port, according to a report on the incident from The War Zone.
Ukraine successfully targeted a Russian cargo vessel
“It also appears to be the first time that Ukraine has successfully targeted any kind of vessel in the Caspian Sea area,” The War Zone continued, marking the attack as one more extremely significant moment in the nearly four-year conflict.
Ukraine has continued to impress war analysts and onlookers with its ability to hit and destroy vital Russian targets deep inside Russian territory. However, the recent attack on the port of Olya could prove to be an extremely important Ukrainian victory.
The War Zone reported that Moscow can now produce more than 2,000 Shahed-style attack drones per month. These strike drones are regularly used to attack Ukraine, and the ability to disrupt Russia’s supply chains for these drones from Iran could prove critical.
How repeatable the attack on Olya will be has yet to be seen, but images from the first strike in mid-August published online by a variety of sources show that Ukrainian forces partly submerged the 'Port Olya 4' ship.
“Extensive scorch marks on the bridge and superstructure of the Russian-flagged vessel suggest that this was the likely point of impact. The War Zone reported. "Unconfirmed reports, relayed by Ambrey [a UK-based maritime security firm], suggested that all of the crew had been rescued.”
The exact nature of the cargo that the Port Olya 4 was transporting couldn’t be verified by The War Zone, but the military news outlet reported that the US Treasury Department and Ukrainian military intelligence claim the ship regularly transits between Russia and Iran.
Few details were provided by Ukrainian forces about the weapons that were used in the attack, beyond that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were employed. However, the type of UAVs used proved to be effective since the port of Olya is 800 kilometers (500 miles) away from the frontlines in Ukraine, which was noted by The Kyiv Independent.
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