Ukraine hits Russian navy ship in Crimean port
- 26 December, 06:54
Ukraine on Tuesday announced that it struck a Russian Navy tank landing ship in an airstrike in Crimea.
In a Telegram post, Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said Novocherkask large landing ship was struck in the port of Feodosia in the Crimea peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Russia confirmed that its navy vessel was hit, with the Russian Defence Ministry revealing that the Ukrainian attack on Feodosia killed one person and injured two others. The ministry said that Ukrainian troops used guided missiles to strike Novocherkask. Crimea’s Russia-installed governor of Sergei Aksyonov also confirmed the report about the killing of one person and injuring two others.
Initially, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that the navy ship was only damaged despite the fact that Telegram channels circulated a video showing a powerful explosion and fires over the Feodosia port area.
Following the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated his military for striking the Russian warship in Crimea.
“I am grateful to our Air Force for the spectacular replenishment of the Russian Black Sea submarine fleet with another vessel. There will be no peaceful place for the occupiers in Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said in an address on Tuesday.
The destruction of the Novocherkask warship comes amid Russia’s heavy losses in terms of military hardware in less than a week.
According to the US military, the Novocherkask carries a crew of around 87 with capacity for 237 troops. It’s unknown how many crew members were aboard in the attack.
A similar Russian warship was destroyed in a Ukrainian attack on the Sevastopol base in Crimea back in September.
