Photo posted on Telegram channel @VentdeCrimee on December 26, 2023 showing smoke above a warship damaged by a Ukrainian attack in the port of Feodosiya in Russian-controlled Crimea (Handout / Telegram / @VentdeCrimee /AFP)
Russia confirmed on Tuesday that one of its ships had been damaged in an attack by Kiev in annexed Crimea, a new move by Moscow in the Black Sea that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed.
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zalouzhny, admitted that his troops had withdrawn to the “outskirts” of the city of Marinka (east), which Moscow had claimed to capture the day before. A sign that Russian forces are gaining ground in this region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed by his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about “damage” suffered by the large landing ship Novocherkassk in that attack in Crimea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press, without giving further details.
The Defense Ministry, citing the RIA Novosti agency, said that the boat was damaged “at night during an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces with cruise missiles” in the city of Feodosia.
The Ukrainian army claims to have “destroyed” this ship, which was said to be carrying Iranian-made Shahed drones, which were widely used by Moscow in the conflict.
Photo published on Telegram channel @VentdeCrimee on December 26, 2023, showing an explosion following a Ukrainian attack in the port of Feodosiya in Russian-controlled Crimea (Handout / Telegram / @VentdeCrimee/AFP)
The attack was carried out around 2:30 a.m. (00:30 GMT) with “tactical aviation” cruise missiles, the air force said on Telegram.
Its commander, Mykola Olechchuk, transmitted a video that showed an explosion and a jet of flames.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that the ship had been sunk and sarcastically praised the work of his air force “for the impressive addition of a new ship to the Russian submarine fleet in the Black Sea.”
“Great Victory”
According to Crimean Governor Sergei Aksionov, the attack also left one dead and two injured, as well as damage to six buildings.
On the Ukrainian side, a Russian attack in the evening hit a train station in Kherson in the south, where more than a hundred civilians were waiting to be evacuated, authorities reported. One police officer was killed and two civilians and two police officers were injured in this bombing.
“Kherson, in the evening. Around 140 civilians were waiting at the train station for the evacuation train to depart. Then the enemy began a massive bombardment of the city,” Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said in Telegram.
The attack on a Russian ship marks a victory for Ukraine, which is trying to prove it can keep Moscow's military fleet away from its shores even if it fails to push back its army at the front.
Its forces managed to keep Russian ships out of the southwestern Black Sea and reopen a maritime corridor for the export of Ukrainian grain, ignoring bomb threats.
Photo posted on Telegram channel @VentdeCrimee on December 26, 2023 showing smoke above a warship damaged by a Ukrainian attack in the port of Feodosiya in Russian-controlled Crimea (Handout / Telegram / @VentdeCrimee /AFP)
Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the results of this strategy as a “great victory for Ukraine in the Black Sea.”
While the home port of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is in Sevastopol, about 190 km from Feodosiya, according to Russian media, several Russian ships are also stationed in the port of this city.
Retreat to Marinka
Kiev's successful operations in the Black Sea represent one of the few major military successes in 2023, as the counteroffensive hit Russian defense lines and Moscow's troops increased their pressure on the eastern and southern fronts.
Ukraine: Russian army claims capture of Marinka (Sabrina BLANCHARD, Sophie RAMIS, Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA / AFP)
Ukrainian army commander Valery Zaluzhny told reporters his troops had “advanced towards the outskirts of Marinka” and left the city “in some places.”
According to him, Ukrainian soldiers are still in the northern part of Marinka, but his forces have “prepared a defensive line outside this place” to which they can retreat.
Russian Defense Minister Shoigu said Tuesday that his army “continues to take more favorable positions and expand the areas under its control in all directions.”
For its part, the Ukrainian Air Force announced on Tuesday that the country was the subject of a new night attack by Shahed drones, particularly in the Kherson and Odessa regions. Thirteen of the 19 Russian drones were intercepted, according to this source, which reported no casualties or destruction.
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