Ukraine says Russian naval vessels badly damaged in Crimea attack
Ukraine attacked Sevastopol port in annexed Crimea, two Russian vessels damagedThe shipyard builds and repairs ships and submarines of the Russian Black Sea FleetUkraine warReutersPublished: 2:16pm, 13 Sep, 2023Why you can trust SCMP
Ukraine said it seriously damaged two Russian naval vessels and struck port infrastructure in the Crimean city of Sevastopol early on Wednesday, in what appeared to be the biggest attack of the war on the home of the Russian navy’s Black Sea Fleet.
The strike on Crimea, seized and annexed by Russia in 2014, was confirmed by Moscow. It highlighted Kyiv’s growing missile capabilities as Russia continues to bombard Ukraine from afar with long-range missiles and assault drones.
Ukrainian military intelligence official Andriy Yusov told Reuters that a large landing vessel and submarine had been hit in the strike, and later described the damage as “considerable” in televised comments.
“We can say now that it is highly likely (the vessels) are beyond repair,” he said.
Russia’s defence ministry said that Ukraine attacked a Black Sea naval shipyard with 10 cruise missiles and three uncrewed speedboats in the early hours, damaging two military vessels that had been undergoing repairs.