“The Ukrainian Armed Forces, together with the Defence Ministry’s intelligence unit, destroyed the Tsezar Kunikov large landing ship. It was in Ukraine’s territorial waters near Alupka at the time of the hit,” the military said on Telegram messenger.
Russia refits old tanks after ‘losing 3,000 in Ukraine war’
Russia refits old tanks after ‘losing 3,000 in Ukraine war’
There was no immediate comment from Russia, which said earlier that it had destroyed six drones in the Black Sea.
“The operational environment is extremely complex and stressful. The Russian occupiers continue to increase their efforts and have a numerical advantage in personnel,” commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said on Wednesday.
Syrsky was conducting his first visit to the front line since he replaced the popular Valerii Zaluzhny last week in a major military shake-up.
Along with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, Syrsky had visited troops fighting around Avdiivka, a key flashpoint where Russia is mounting a major attempt to capture the city.
“We are doing everything possible to prevent the enemy from advancing deep into our territory,” Syrsky said in a post on social media, saying his troops were operating in “extremely difficult conditions”.
Russian military bloggers and local officials have said Ukrainian forces appear to be conserving ammunition as supplies run low.
Ukraine relies on Western – predominantly US – support to fund and equip its armed forces with the shells, bullets, rockets, tanks and air defences it needs to hold off Russian attacks.
But the latest multibillion-dollar aid package has been held up in the US Congress since last year amid political wrangling, threatening to hobble Ukraine’s defensive capacity.
The US Senate this week approved US$60 billion of funding for Ukraine, but it is unclear whether it will win support in the House of Representatives.
Despite the difficult situation, Ukraine’s defence forces are inflicting significant losses on the enemy
Kyiv has insisted it is holding strong in the face of a renewed Russian offensive, even as doubts linger over the future of Western support.
“Despite the difficult situation, Ukraine’s defence forces are inflicting significant losses on the enemy,” Syrsky said on Wednesday.
One of those losses appeared to come in the Black Sea overnight, as Ukraine said it had sunk a Russian warship off the southern coast of Crimea.
Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency published grainy footage on Telegram purporting to show several naval drones approaching a large vessel at night and at least one large explosion.
Reuters was able to verify the ship in the video as the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Tsezar Kunikov based on its main mast, antenna, bridge and deck. The location and date the footage was filmed could not be independently verified.
Putin’s suggestion of Ukraine ceasefire rejected by US: sources
Putin’s suggestion of Ukraine ceasefire rejected by US: sources
Some of the footage at the end appeared to show major damage, with the vessel listing heavily to one side.
The strikes inflicted “critical holes on the left side and [the ship] began to sink,” the GUR intelligence agency said.
Ukraine has used uncrewed navy drones packed with explosives to attack Russian warships to try to drive them out of parts of the Black Sea, making it possible for Ukraine to open a shipping corridor along a traditionally key export route.
Ukraine has no large naval ships left and deliberately scuttled its own flagship at the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion to prevent it falling into Russian hands.
Newly developed naval drones have been vital for Ukraine as it tries to narrow the vast gap in its naval capabilities with Russia, which has a powerful Black Sea Fleet that Kyiv has been trying to degrade.
A senior Ukrainian security official said in December that it had already destroyed 20 per cent of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
“Time after time the Black Sea fleet has turned out to be incompetent and unable to repel attacks from Ukrainian formations,” blasted the Rybar Telegram channel, one of the largest pro-war Russian accounts.
Separately, Ukrainian officials said a Russian rocket strike on a hospital killed at least three people, including a pregnant woman and a child.
The attack, on the eastern town of Selydove, killed a 38-year-old pregnant woman, as well as another woman and her nine-year-old son, Ukraine’s general prosecutor said.
Some 12 people, including a six-month-old child, were also injured in the strike.