The attack took place while Ukraine’s new military commander was touring the front lines.
Ukraine has reported that its forces have fatally damaged a large Russian warship off the coast of occupied Crimea, dealing another blow to the enemy’s Black Sea fleet.
The Ukrainian military announced on Wednesday that the Tsesar Kunikov amphibious ship had been “destroyed” by a naval drone attack. The attack came as Kiev’s new military commander inspected the front lines and described the situation as “complicated.”
The military announced via the messaging app Telegram that it had acted in cooperation with Defense Ministry intelligence to target the ship, which was in Ukrainian territorial waters near Alupka at the time of the collision.
The media outlet Ukraineska Pravda released a video showing a column of smoke rising over the sea off the southern coast of Crimea and a helicopter flying overhead.
Ukraine has launched a series of attacks against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in recent months. Pushing ships out of western waters would help free up a major export route.
In February, the Ukrainian military used maritime drones to attack and destroy a Russian warship. In December, a cruise missile hit a large Russian landing ship.
There was no immediate comment from Russia regarding the attack.
cross-border attacks
On land, the two continue to carry out cross-border airstrikes.
Ukrainian officials said Russia launched several missile attacks overnight on the town of Seridove in eastern Donetsk region, killing three people, injuring more than a dozen others and damaging a hospital and several apartment buildings.
Donetsk region governor Vadim Filashkin said on the messaging app Telegram that one wing of the town’s hospital had been damaged and 100 patients had been evacuated. He added that several apartments in a five-story residential building were destroyed and at least four people, including two children, were injured.
Russia’s state agency RIA reported that Moscow’s air defense systems destroyed nine Ukrainian-launched drones over the Belgorod and Voronezh regions and over the Black Sea.
Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in attacks on each other’s territory.
‘Complex’
In recent months, the use of airstrikes has increased as the front line has reached a near stalemate.
Despite this, heavy fighting continues in the eastern part of the country.
The newly appointed commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Shirschiy, visited the region and described the situation as “very complex and stressful.”
Shirschiky, who was accompanied by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, said in a social media statement that Russian occupation forces had “numerical superiority in terms of personnel.”