Ukraine claims critical strike on Russian warship
Al Jazeera
The attack came as Ukraine’s new military chief toured the front lines.
Ukraine reported its forces have critically damaged a large Russian warship off occupied Crimea, landing a new blow on its foe’s Black Sea fleet.
Ukraine’s armed forces said on Wednesday that the attack with naval drones had “destroyed” the Tsezar Kunikov landing ship. The strike came as Kyiv’s new military chief toured the front lines, describing the situation as “complex”.
The military said via the Telegram messaging app that it had acted in concert with defence ministry intelligence to target the ship, which was in Ukrainian territorial waters near Alupka as it was hit.
The Ukrainska Pravda media outlet published videos showing a column of smoke over the sea off the southern coast of Crimea, and helicopters flying over the water.
Ukraine has mounted a series of attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in recent months. Pushing its ships out of the sea’s western waters would help free up a key export route.
