On Friday, Ukraine attacked the Russian naval base in Sevastopol in Crimea with medium-range missiles. The home port of the Black Sea Fleet is in the center of the city and numerous videos shared by the public on social networks showed several explosions and columns of smoke rising from the central headquarters of the Russian fleet and also from the naval docks. Another attack was launched against Sevastopol on Saturday.
Occupation authorities said Friday’s bombing was carried out with missiles and affected only the building that serves as the fleet’s headquarters. The images that emerged from the attack on the Sevastopol captain confirmed that at least one rocket hit the facade, although without destroying the building.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has deployed a modification of its Neptune anti-ship missile to attack ground targets, particularly air defense batteries. The Neptune became famous among the Ukrainian population when one of the missiles sank the Moskva, the flagship of the Russian fleet, in the Black Sea in 2022.
The latest bombing in Sevastopol came after Thursday’s attack (again with a Neptune) on the Saky air base, also in Crimea, where 12 fighter jets were based, according to the Ukrainian Security Service (SSU). One of the Russian fleet’s dry docks in Sevastopol was also attacked by Ukrainian missiles and nautical drones last week, damaging a submarine and a landing ship. Another blow to the Russian fleet in Crimea came on Wednesday when Storm Shadow long-range missiles hit the Verkhnosadove base, an underground bunker complex. In addition to attacks on its targets, Ukraine carries out daily drone strikes to test Russia’s air defense network on the Crimean Peninsula, considered one of the best in the world.
The Storm Shadow is a long-range missile manufactured by the United Kingdom and France and is the first weapon supplied by NATO allies that the Ukrainian Air Force has used against Russian positions in Crimea. Air Force commander Mikola Oleshchuk has confirmed that the Storm Shadows were fired by fighter-bombers.
Until a few months ago, NATO member states supporting Ukraine set an essential condition that their weapons would not be used in attacks on Russian territory or Crimea. For the Kremlin, Crimea is a red line, an inalienable part of Russian national identity, and an attack with Western weapons, as the Russian Defense Ministry warned, could lead to an escalation of the conflict. Russia forcibly annexed Crimea in 2014 while supporting separatist uprisings in Donbass in eastern Ukraine.
The Storm Shadow missiles were successfully used in the attack on the Sevastopol dry dock last week. Ukraine also uses air and sea drones to attack Russian warships. The enemy fleet stationed in Crimea is blocking maritime traffic in the Black Sea and preventing Ukrainian ports from accessing the sea. Russia also occupied the Ukrainian coast of the Sea of Azov during the invasion.
Russian Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev reported this Friday that there had also been an “unprecedented” cyberattack that disrupted internet service on the peninsula.
This was stated by the Secretary of the Security Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, on the social network Danilov wrote in his typically provocative tone that the Russian Navy had two options in Crimea: either it would voluntarily sink its ships given the proximity of the enemy, or it would do so waiting for their fleet to be “sliced like salami”.
Ukraine’s pressure on Crimea coincides with the introduction of an alternative route for the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Last July, Russia ended its participation in the so-called “Black Sea Grain Initiative,” under which it had committed to Turkey and the United States. The nations are allowing merchant ships carrying Ukrainian grain bound for international markets to enter from Ukrainian ones Ports. Russia broke the agreement, saying Western sanctions were hampering its exports. But Ukraine started a new route this week: without leaving Ukrainian waters, merchant ships are heading to ports in neighboring Romania. From there they continue their journey to Turkish waters. Ukraine and shipping companies assume that Moscow will not authorize an attack on merchant ships.
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