Except for the Yamal and Azov landing ships, Ukraine's March 23 missile attack on Russian-occupied Crimea could have damaged the Russian military's Ivan Khurs ship, Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said on March 25.
Ukraine struck two Russian Ropucha-class landing ships, the Yamal and the Azov, in the Crimean city of Sevastopol in the late hours of March 23, Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed on March 24. The Yamal was "critically damaged," according to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR).
Ukraine's Navy is verifying information about the possible damage to another Russian warship, the reconnaissance vessel Ivan Khurs, Pletenchuk told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
"There is a suspicion that, most likely, it (the Ivan Khurs ship) was also damaged. As soon as we collect this information from various sources, we will be able to verify it, and then we will be able to operate on it as a fact," Pletenchuk said.
The ship does not serve as an active combat unit but rather performs auxiliary functions to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, he added.
Dinara Khalilova
Ukraine previously attacked the Ivan Khurs warship with drones in May last year, but the Russian Defense Ministry said to have repelled that attack.
In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on occupied Crimea, targeting Russian military assets in and around the Black Sea. Russia has illegally occupied the peninsula since 2014.
As Ukraine's campaign against Russia's navy continues, Russia is redeploying its Black Sea Fleet from occupied Crimea to the relative safety of Novorossiysk, HUR reported on March 21
The Strategic Communications Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (StratCom) recently reported that as of early February 2024, 33% of the fleet's warships had been disabled, including 24 ships and one submarine.
Russia has taken a number of steps to address the continuing threat, including replacing the commander of the Russian Navy earlier this month.
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