Updated with confirmation by the Ukrainian military.
A Ukrainian cruise missile and seaborne drone attack on a shipyard in annexed Crimea damaged two Russian warships that had been undergoing repairs, Russian and Ukrainian military officials said Wednesday.
The overnight attack targeted a shipyard in the port city of Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet, causing a blaze that injured at least 24 people, according to Kremlin-backed officials in Crimea.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the missile strike and seaborne drone attack, saying two Russian Black Sea Fleet ships were damaged.
“The Ukrainian armed forces launched a strike with 10 cruise missiles at the S. Ordzhonikidze ship repair yard,” the Defense Ministry said on the messaging app Telegram.
Ukraine also “attempted an attack with three unmanned boats against a detachment of Black Sea fleet ships” during a sea crossing, it added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defense systems managed to shoot down seven of the cruise missiles, while a patrol ship destroyed all three seaborne drones used in the attack.
So, too, did military officials in Kyiv confirm the attack, saying that “significant damage to equipment and facilities” had been caused at the shipyard.
Open-source intelligence analysts have suggested that a military landing craft and submarine were among the vessels damaged, though this information could not be immediately verified.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Kremlin-installed governor of Sevastopol, said on the messaging app Telegram that he was at the scene of the fire at the shipyard early Wednesday.
“As a result of the attack, according to preliminary information, a total of 24 people were injured, four of them in moderate condition,” he said.
Kyiv has targeted Crimea throughout the war in Ukraine, but the annexed peninsula has recently come under more intense, increased attacks.
