Ukraine confirms “significant” missile strike on Russian warships in Crimean naval base
- 14 September, 06:03
Ukraine launched a substantial missile attack on Russia’s Black Sea naval targets and port infrastructure in Crimea Peninsula on Wednesday morning.
Russian Defence Ministry reported that ten cruise missiles and three unmanned boats were used to attack a shipyard in the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol in Crimea. Seven of the missiles were shot and all of the boats were destroyed by Russian air defence forces, the ministry said. Russian officials confirmed that Russian warships were damaged and 24 people were injured as a result of the attack. Moreover, Russian state news agency TASS reported that eight houses were damaged as a result of the attack. Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev also confirmed the substantial attack on the city’s naval base.
Ukraine confirmed causing a “significant” damage on Russian fleet in the Crimean city of Sevastopol. “We confirm a large landing vessel and submarine were hit. We do not comment on the means used for the strike,” Ukrainian military intelligence official Andriy Yusov said.
“Those are significant damages. We can now say that with a high probability they are not subject to restoration,” the official added.
Spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force Yuri Ihnat expressed skepticism over Russian Defence Ministry’s assertion that it downed most of the Ukrainian missiles involved in the attack. “It’s hard to say how many they were capable of downing,” he told local media. “It is important not to underestimate their anti-aircraft units. Perhaps they destroyed them. Perhaps not.”
Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea that was annexed by Russia in 2014, is a home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
In August, Ukraine launched a sea drone attack on a major Russian naval base in Novorossiysk, Russia’s largest port. Another sea drone attack was launched in July, on the Kerch Bridge connecting Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula to mainland Russia. Ukrainian troops recently started launching attacks deep into Russian territory, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announcing in July that the war was “gradually returning to Russia’s territory, to its symbolic centers and military bases.”
