Kiev celebrates the ship's sinking in 2014.
A photo published by the Russian news agency TASS shows smoke over the port area
Photo: DW / Deutsche Welle
Hours later, Moscow confirmed the attack on the Novocherkassk ship, but said the ship was only “damaged.” Crimea's Russianappointed governor, Sergei Aksyonov, said one person had died and two were injured. According to him, six buildings were damaged in the attack and their residents were evacuated.
The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Lt. Gen. Mikola Oleschuk, celebrated the attack on Monday evening and said the Russian fleet was “getting smaller.” He thanked the Air Force pilots and everyone involved in the operation. A major fire in the port can be seen in images published on Telegram.
Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces said in a statement that the Novocherkassk was a ship built between 1975 and 1991 by socialist Poland for the Soviet Union. The first attempt to attack the Russian landing ship took place on March 24, 2022 in the port of the occupied city of Berdyansk.
“Today the ship was sunk,” the Ukrainian armed forces celebrated on Telegram.
On the messaging platform, the Ukrainian Air Force mentioned that the ship would be carrying Shaheds (Iranian explosive drones that Russia regularly uses against Ukraine).
Russia does not confirm the version
Although Ukraine claims to have sunk the ship, Moscow said the vessel was merely “damaged.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the ship was hit by guided missiles fired from aircraft at a base in the city of Feodosia.
According to the Kremlin, two Ukrainian fighter jets were destroyed by antiaircraft fire in the attack. The Ukrainian Air Force did not say whether it suffered any casualties in the operation.
Zelenski celebrates attack
Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky thanked the country's air force for the attack on occupied Crimea.
“I am grateful to our Air Force for the impressive replenishment of the Russian Black Sea underwater fleet with another ship. The occupiers will not have a single peaceful place in Ukraine,” he wrote on Telegram, implying that the ship had been sunk.
Images circulating on social media, which DW could not independently verify, show the nighttime airstrike followed by a large explosion that they believe was caused by onboard ammunition.
“We can see how powerful the explosion was, what the detonation was like. After that, it is very difficult for a Nevio to continue operating because it is not a missile, but the detonation of ammunition,” said Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat on Radio Free Europe.
Photos of the scene published by Russian news agency TASS did not reveal the extent of damage to the ship and only showed the port from a distance with smoke over the area.
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