A suspected overnight Ukrainian missile and drone attack on the Crimean port of Sevastopol has reportedly damaged a landing ship and submarine belonging to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, in what appears to be the latest blow inflicted by Kyiv against Moscow’s navy.
The Russian state-run Tass news agency reported that the overnight attack injured 24 people in Sevastopol, with Moscow-installed city governor Mikhail Razvozhaev blaming a “missile attack.” Photos and videos of the port showed a series of explosions and fires raging around the docks. The first strikes were reported at around 3 a.m. local time. Tass reported witnesses hearing around 10 explosions.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Sevastopol was attacked by three naval drones and 10 cruise missiles. In a statement, the ministry said that all unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed, along with seven cruise missiles. The target, it added, was the S. Ordzhonikidze ship repair plant.
Razvozhaev posted a photo from the scene appearing to show the side of a Ropucha-class large landing ship that sustained damage, The New York Times reported. The Russian Baza news outlet reported that the damaged landing ship was the Minsk, and that the Kilo-class Rostov-on-Don attack submarine was also hit.
A # of Russian Telegram channels posted videos of explosions and a fire reportedly at the 13th Ship Repair Plant in Sevastopol, possibly from a missile strike. https://t.co/Pr645WM7Kthttps://t.co/6vKPel4yhthttps://t.co/jXTfViRBy9https://t.co/6AQB0skAdKhttps://t.co/p13j5iL0gt pic.twitter.com/Fgg1FTPKkn — Rob Lee (@RALee85) September 13, 2023
Both vessels were reportedly undergoing maintenance in a Sevastopol dry dock at the 13th Ship Repair Plant when the attack occurred. Satellite images from August showed what appeared to be a Ropucha-class large landing ship and a Kilo-class submarine in the Sevastopol drydock.
Ukrainian air force commander Nikolai Oleshchuk confirmed Kyiv’s responsibility for the attack, saying the air force was involved in the operation. “I thank the pilots of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for their excellent combat work! To be continued…” he wrote, as reported by Strana.ua.
Ukraine has been increasing the tempo of attacks in occupied Crimea in recent months, coinciding with its counteroffensive operation underway since early June. The push in the southeast of the country is intended to strain and eventually sever the “land corridor” supply route connecting Crimea to western Russia, isolating the occupied peninsula and imperiling the Russian military grouping in southern Ukraine.
The port of Sevastopol—home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet—is the hub of Moscow’s power projection into the Black Sea. Vessels based in Sevastopol have regularly fired cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, and imposed an intermittent naval blockade of southern Ukrainian ports.
Photos Show Russian Landing Ship Damage As Crimea Drydocks, Submarine Hit
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