KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s navy spokesperson stated on Tuesday that they have caused severe damage to a third of the Russian warships in the Black Sea in slightly over two years of conflict, significantly impacting Moscow’s military strength.
Ukraine’s Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk informed The Associated Press that the most recent attack on Saturday night targeted the Russian amphibious landing ship Kostiantyn Olshansky, which was moored in Sevastopol in Russia-occupied Crimea. The ship was once part of the Ukrainian navy before Russia captured it while annexing the Black Sea peninsula in 2014.
Pletenchuk had previously mentioned that two other landing ships of the same type, Azov and Yamal, were also harmed in the Saturday’s strike, along with the Ivan Khurs intelligence ship.
He informed the AP that the weekend assault, carried out using Ukraine-built Neptune missiles, also struck Sevastopol's port facilities and an oil depot.
Russian authorities reported a significant Ukrainian assault on Sevastopol over the weekend but did not acknowledge any damage to the fleet.
Pletenchuk stated that with the recent attack, a third of all the warships that Russia had in the Black Sea before the war have been destroyed or made inoperative. At the same time, he admitted that only two of approximately a dozen Russian missile-carrying warships have been sunk and promised that Ukraine will continue its attacks.
“Our ultimate goal is complete absence of military ships of the so-called Russian Federation in the Azov and Black Sea regions,” Pletenchuk told the AP.
Successful Ukrainian drone and missile strikes have given the city of Kyiv a major morale boost at a time when its undermanned and under-equipped forces are being attacked by Russia along the over 600-mile front line.
Challenging Russia's naval dominance has also helped create better conditions for Ukrainian grain exports and other shipments from the country’s Black Sea ports.
Moscow officials have remained silent on most of Ukraine's assertions, but previous navy losses have been confirmed by Russian military bloggers and media, who have strongly criticized the military leaders for their slow and inadequate response to the threat.
Earlier this month, Russian media reported that the navy chief, Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, had been dismissed and replaced with Adm. Alexander Moiseyev, the commander of Russia’s Northern Fleet. The Kremlin has not yet announced the reshuffle, but last week Moiseyev was introduced as the new acting navy chief during a ceremony at a Russian naval base.
