The Russian military has announced that a Ukrainian missile attack on a shipyard in annexed Crimea resulted in damage to a Russian ship. The Russian Defense Ministry revealed in a statement on Saturday that Ukrainian forces launched 15 cruise missiles at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch, a city located in the eastern part of the Crimean Peninsula. While air defenses successfully intercepted 13 of the missiles, some managed to strike the shipyard, causing damage to one of the vessels. Unfortunately, the ministry did not provide any further details regarding the ship or the extent of the damage.
In response to the attack, Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk stated that the strike was carried out by Ukrainian tactical aviation during a time when “one of the most advanced ships of Russia’s Black Sea fleet was present at the shipyard — a carrier of the Kalibr cruise missiles.” However, he did not explicitly state whether this specific ship was affected by the strike.
Crimea, which was unlawfully annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, has been frequently targeted since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine 20 months ago. The peninsula has served as a crucial hub supporting the invasion.
In recent months, Ukraine has increasingly targeted naval facilities in Crimea. In September, a Ukrainian missile strike on a strategic shipyard in the port city of Sevastopol resulted in the damage of two Russian ships and the injury of 24 individuals. Later in the same month, a missile strike hit the Crimean headquarters of Russia’s navy in Sevastopol.
Providing his thoughts on the recent attack, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, expressed in a Sunday morning Telegram post that “life continuously demonstrates that there will not be a Russian Black Sea fleet in Crimea.”
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military reported that a Russian missile strike on Friday evening in the Zaporizhzhia area resulted in casualties among the troops and civilians. Details regarding the attack, supposedly carried out using an Iskander ballistic missile, have not been disclosed to the public.
A video circulating on social media claims that the strike targeted a group of soldiers who had gathered for a ceremony honoring their fallen comrades. At the moment, there is no immediate confirmation regarding the number of fatalities and injuries. Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has ordered an investigation.
It is important to note that on October 5, a devastating missile strike hit a Ukrainian village, causing the death of 59 civilians who were attending a wake for a local soldier who had lost his life in combat against Russian troops.
