Russia admits that Ukraine damaged two warships

2023-09-13 17:04:10, Kosova & Bota CNA

Two Russian military ships have been damaged in a large-scale attack by Ukraine. The attack took place at a ship repair base in Russian-occupied Crimea, as Kiev reported massive Russian drone attacks on port infrastructure in the Odesa region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the shipyard in Sevastopol, which serves as the main base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, was targeted by ten cruise missiles and three drones.

The ministry said that air defense systems shot down seven missiles, adding that the patrol ship Vasily Bykov destroyed all the ships.

But Russian officials confirmed that two ships were damaged and Moscow-appointed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said at least 24 people were injured.

"All emergency services are working at the scene, but there is no danger to civilian objects located in the city," Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.

At the strategic shipyard on the Crimean Peninsula – which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014 – ships and submarines for the Russian Black Sea Fleet are built and repaired. This fleet has carried out many drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.

Razvozhayev published photos showing a fire in the port's infrastructure. Russian Telegram channels have published videos and photos of a large fire in a building near the water, the Russian Radio Free Europe Service reported.

The attack on Sevastopol comes after Ukraine claimed on September 11 that it had regained control of strategic oil and gas drilling platforms in the Black Sea that Russia seized in 2015. Russia has used the platforms to deploy weapons and launch helicopter attacks. Kiev said that recapturing the platforms will help it take control of Crimea.

Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, wrote on Telegram that "while the occupier is trying to recover from the nighttime bombing of Sevastopol, I want to thank the pilots of the Ukrainian Air Force for their excellent work."

Meanwhile, infrastructure at the port of Izmail was also damaged on September 13 after a new drone attack by Russia, said Oleh Kiper, governor of Odesa region.

"Damage to the port and other civilian infrastructure has been reported," he wrote on Telegram, adding that six people were injured, three of whom were in serious condition.

Later in the day, the Ukrainian Air Force said it managed to intercept 32 of the 44 Shahed drones over Ukraine overnight. Most of them were headed for southern ports in the Odesa region.

Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian grain-exporting infrastructure since withdrawing from a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July. This agreement enabled the safe export of Ukrainian grain from ports in the Black Sea./ REL