Putin Informed of Ukrainian Attack on Crimean Port, Damages to Important Russian Warship

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday informed Russian President Vladimir Putin that a Ukrainian raid on Crimea’s Feodosia port damaged the Novocherkassk – an important Russian warship.

“Defence minister Shoigu reported to Vladimir Putin about the strike by the Ukrainian Armed Force on Feodosia and the damage to the large landing ship Novocherkassk,” the president’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, quoted by TASS news agency.

Russian authorities on Tuesday said the Ukrainian attack on the Crimean port of Feodosia has damaged the Novocherkassk and killed one person. Authorities in Kyiv said they destroyed an ‘important Russian warship’ earlier.

Russian defence ministry officials told news agency Interfax that Ukraine used air-launched missiles to attack Feodosia and that the ‘Novocherkassk’ large landing ship sustained damages in the raid. The ship, built in Poland, entered service in the late 1980s.

The Novocherkassk, according to a Reuters report, is designed for amphibious landings and can carry various types of armoured vehicles, including tanks. The news agency, citing videos shared on Telegram messaging app by Russian news outlets, said powerful explosions detonated and fires burnt following the raid.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed governor of Crimea, said one died, two were wounded and six were evacuated after the raid.

Ukraine, whose much discussed counteroffensive is failing to yield the desired results, launched a series of attacks on Crimea which is also the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and in some cases have inflicted serious damage, even though Russia has made some military gains.

“And the fleet in Russia is getting smaller and smaller! Thanks to the Air Force pilots and everyone involved for the filigree work!” the commander of Ukraine’s air force, Mykola Oleshchuk, said on Telegram.

The Russian-backed Crimean administration said trains were not running from Feodosia and residents were advised to use an alternative nearby station. Feodosia, which has a population of around 69,000 people, lies on the southern coast of the Crimean Peninsula. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.