Ukraine said today that it destroyed a Russian warship, armed with cruise missiles, on the Crimean peninsula occupied by Moscow during an operation on Sunday, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
Ukraine's military said it carried out a long-range weapons attack that destroyed a Russian minesweeper, adding that it needed more time to confirm what other damage was.
"According to updated information, the Ukrainian Defense Forces hit a Russian missile ship "Zyklon" in Sevastopol on the night of May 19", reported the military command of Ukraine.
Later, the Ukrainian Navy reported on the social platform "X" that the ship had been "destroyed". The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had shot down 9 US-made ATAKMS long-range missiles over Crimea.
Reuters was unable to independently verify this information. So far, there is no comment from Russia.
According to Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk "Cyclone" was "the last cruise missile-armed Russian ship" based on the peninsula, which Moscow seized and annexed in 2014. According to him, the ship never fired a single cruise missile while on active combat duty.
Pletenuk said that of the five Russian warships of this type, two have been destroyed, two have been returned to the Caspian Sea and one is currently in a shipyard.
Ukrainian officials say the attacks have allowed Ukraine to gain an advantage in the Black Sea region and undermine Moscow's ability to launch missile strikes against targets on Ukrainian territory from the sea.