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Ukrainian forces have managed to sink or destroy a third of all Russian warships in the Black Sea, claims the spokesman for Ukraine’s navy.
Short version:
- Russian authorities reported a massive Ukrainian attack against Sevastopol in Crimea, without admitting the loss of ships.
- Ukrainian spokesman Dmytro Pletenschuk claims the attack damaged the Russian landing ship Kostiantyn Olshansky, formerly Ukrainian, taken over by Russia in 2014.
- Pletentchuk says the attack also hit other military ships and facilities, and that a third of Russia’s Black Sea fleet has been destroyed or put out of action since the war began.
- The attacks against Russian naval vessels have boosted the morale of the Ukrainian army and facilitated the export of grain and goods from the Black Sea.
The summary is generated by artificial intelligence, but read through by a journalist.
At the weekend, Russian authorities announced a massive Ukrainian attack against Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, but without acknowledging that ships were lost.
Spokesman for the Ukrainian navy, Dmytro Pletenschuk, says for his part that the attack on Saturday evening hit the Russian landing ship Kostjantyn Olsyansky, which was in dock at the port of Sevastopol.
The ship was previously part of the Ukrainian Navy. But Russia took control of the ship in connection with the occupation and annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Will sink all ships
Earlier, Pletentsjuk said that two other landing ships of the same type, Azov and Jamal, were also damaged in Saturday’s attack. The same applies to the intelligence ship Ivan Khurs, according to him.
Pletentchuk tells AP that the attack, which was carried out with Ukrainian-built Neptun missiles, also hit facilities at the port of Sevastopol and an oil refinery.
After the latest attack, a third of all ships Russia had in the Black Sea before the war have been destroyed or put out of action, according to Pletenschuk.
At the same time, he acknowledges that only two of around twelve missile-carrying warships have been sunk, and says that the Ukrainian attacks will continue.
– Our ultimate goal is a complete absence of military ships from the so-called Russian Federation in the regions of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, says Pletentsjuk.
Good for morale
Successful attacks against the Russian navy have provided long-awaited boosts for the Ukrainian army, which lacks both the men and ammunition to withstand Russian attacks along a front line of more than 1,000 kilometers.
In addition, the attacks have facilitated the easier export of grain and other goods from the country’s ports in the Black Sea.
Russian authorities have made few comments on the Ukrainian claims, but previous losses to the navy have been discussed by Russian military bloggers and media. They have sharply criticized the navy management for handling the situation.
Earlier in March, Russian media reported that the head of the navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, had been dismissed and replaced by Admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev. The Kremlin has not officially confirmed this, but Moiseyev was last week presented as acting navy chief.
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