Ukraine claims to have hit two large Russian landing ships in Crimea

The Ukrainian military announced that it had hit two large Ropucha-class landing ships, the Azov and Yamal, a communications center and many infrastructure facilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean peninsula.

Azov landing ship

The Kyiv Independent quoted information on the Russian Black Sea Fleet website saying that the Yamal ship has a crew of 98 people while the Azov ship has 87 people, belongs to the 197th Landing Ship Brigade and is being used for fleet exercises and training.

According to Reuters, the announcement did not specify what weapons Ukraine used and the extent of damage to the ships is unknown.

Russia has not commented on the reports of the attack on its warships. Earlier, a Russian-appointed official in Crimea said the Crimean port of Sevastopol had come under a major attack and that air defense systems had shot down more than 10 missiles.

Russian officials say the city of Sevastopol was hit by a heavy airstrike overnight, killing one person and injuring four.

Yamal landing ship

According to RT, unverified videos on Telegram show sparks lighting up the sky and several large explosions following.

Sevastopol is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and has been the target of several major attacks. Last September, Ukraine launched a missile and drone attack that destroyed two Russian ships in the port, including a landing ship and a submarine.

In a recent report, Ukrainian military intelligence said Russia is moving its Black Sea Fleet from Crimea to the more distant port of Novorossiysk to ensure safety amid Ukrainian attacks. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently visited Sevastopol and said that ships in the fleet should be equipped with heavy machine guns to destroy Ukrainian unmanned vessels.

Images from the early morning attack on March 24 in Kyiv

Police examine debris from a Russian Kh-55 cruise missile in a park in Kyiv on March 24.

In a development related to the war in Ukraine, the Polish military said on March 24 that a missile had flown into Polish airspace during Russia's overnight attack on western Ukraine, according to Reuters.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 29 missiles and 28 UAVs to attack areas in Ukraine in the early morning of March 24, including the Lviv region near Poland.

The Polish military said a cruise missile launched by Russia entered Polish airspace near the town of Oserdow at 4:23 a.m. local time and remained in the airspace for 39 seconds.

Poland's Foreign Ministry said it would ask Russia to explain the incident. Russia has not commented.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/ukraine-tuyen-bo-danh-trung-2-tau-do-bo-lon-cua-nga-tai-crimea-185240324170348446.htm