Attack was launched against Russia’s Black Sea fleet

Missile attack targeted Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Crimea, local governor says

5 missiles were shot down and one serviceman was killed, Russia’s defense ministry says.

BY VERONIKA MELKOZEROVA

A rocket attack was launched against Russia’s Black Sea fleet on Friday, with one missile damaging the fleet’s headquarters building in Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, the local Russian-backed governor said.

Five missiles were shot down with anti-aircraft defenses, according to the Russian defense ministry. “According to available information, one serviceman was killed,” the ministry said in a statement Friday.

“The enemy launched a missile attack on the fleet headquarters,” Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram. Shrapnel fragments fell near a theater. Information about victims was being confirmed, he said.

“Another attack is possible,” Razvozhayev added, urging locals to stay out of the city center.

Kyiv, as it usually does in these cases, did not immediately take direct responsibility for the attack. “The only thing I can confirm is that as a result of the aggression against Ukraine, the Russian troops in Crimea are suffering significant losses of manpower and equipment,” Andriy Cherniak, representative of the Military Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, told POLITICO, refusing to add any more details.

Earlier, Krym Realii, a Ukrainian service of the Radio Liberty branch covering Crimea, reported three loud blasts in Sevastopol. “Windows shook. Rockets were also heard flying over the southern part of the city,” Krym Realii said.

This is the latest in the string of attacks against Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Crimea. Last week, Ukraine struck a shipyard in Sevastopol, where Russia repaired its navy vessels, and also took control over strategically important drilling platforms in the Black Sea near Crimean shores, disconnecting the Russian radar system that used to monitor the northwestern part of the Black Sea.

The British Ministry of Defense reported that both Russia and Ukraine have intensified attacks deep inside the enemy territory in recent days. “With the ground battle relatively static, each side is seeking an advantage by striking through their adversary’s strategic depth,” the ministry said in a statement on Friday.