from
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/14/europe/ukraine-sevastopol-attack-russian-ships-identified-intl-hnk/index.html

Ukraine identifies ships hit in Sevastopol attack, claiming ‘irreparable
loss’ to Russia
Jessie Yeung
By Yulia Kesaieva, Andrew Carey, Mariya Knight and Jessie Yeung, CNN
Updated 3:49 AM EDT, Fri September 15, 2023

—
Ukraine has identified the ships hit in its attack against a Russian
naval base in occupied Crimea, claiming the vessels are beyond repair.

The attack early Wednesday morning in Sevastopol, the largest city in
Crimea, marks Ukraine’s most ambitious strike on the port since the war
began and comes as Kyiv steps up missile and drone strikes on the peninsula.

On Wednesday, Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence
of Ukraine, said the landing ship Minsk and the submarine Rostov-on-Don
had been destroyed in the attack. Both had been undergoing repairs at
the time.

A satellite image shows Sevastopol after a Ukrainian missile attack in
Crimea on September 13, 2023.
BlackSky/Reuters
Speaking to Ukrainian media, Yusov called the destruction of the landing
ship an “irreparable loss” to the Russian sea fleet, because, as he
claimed, Russians do not produce such ships any longer. He added that
the Defense Intelligence doesn’t want to get into the details of what
weapon was used to hit the shipyard, but that the demilitarization of
occupied Ukrainian territories is underway.

CNN cannot independently verify Ukraine’s claims.

In recent weeks Ukraine has focused its efforts on Crimea, which was
illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and is a strategically vital
logistics hub for Russia’s war effort due to its location on the Black Sea.

Smoke rises from the shipyard that was hit by a Ukrainian attack in
Sevastopol, Crimea, on September 13, 2023.
Reuters

Kyiv insists its strikes on naval bases and vessels in Crimea are an
integral part of their counteroffensive strategy, intended to isolate
the peninsula and make it more difficult for Russia to sustain its
military operations on the Ukrainian mainland, a Ukrainian source
familiar with the strategy told CNN.

A day after the Sevastopol attack, Ukraine carried out another
operation, attacking two ships in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The ships were of the Project 22160 type in the southwestern part of the
Black Sea, said a statement from Ukraine’s General Staff.

The Defense Intelligence arm released video of the incident, showing
what appears to be a Russian patrol ship coming under attack from naval
drones. The night vision footage appears to have been recorded from one
of the drones as it moves towards the patrol ship, which appears to open
fire as the attack vessels close in.

The General Staff said later Thursday that the strikes had caused “some
damage.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry also acknowledged that one of its ships,
“Sergei Kotov,” had come under attack overnight. “In the course of
repelling the attack, five enemy unmanned boats were destroyed by [the
ship’s] fire,” a ministry statement said, though it did not make
reference to any attack on a second patrol ship.

Smoke rises from the shipyard that was reportedly hit by Ukrainian
missile attack in Sevastopol, Crimea, in this still image from video
taken September 13, 2023. REUTERS TV via REUTERS
Why has Ukraine stepped up its strikes on occupied Crimea?
Also on Thursday, Ukrainian forces in the Crimean city Yevpatoria
destroyed a Russian air defense complex in an overnight attack using
cruise missiles and drones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
called the operation “a triumph” in his nightly address, adding: “It is
a very significant achievement, well done!”

The shift in focus to Crimea also came after Russia allowed the Black
Sea Grain Initiative to lapse in July. The agreement, brokered by Turkey
and the United Nations in July 2022, allowed the export of Ukrainian
grain – until the deal expired, with Moscow declining to renew the pact.

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has since resumed its blockade of Ukraine’s
ports, preventing vital grain exports and threatening global food security.

There are also other restrictions at play within Europe; in May, the
European Commission banned imports of Ukrainian agricultural products to
Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia until June 5, a measure
aimed to ease logistical bottlenecks and protect local farmers from
being undercut in price by cheaper Ukrainian grain.

In June, the European Union decided to gradually reduce precautions for
the import of Ukrainian products until September 15 – this Friday. On
Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he expects the
European Commission to “keep its word” and lift all restrictions on
Ukrainian grain exports by Friday, saying it would not be “acceptable”
to continue the ban.

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