Ukraine strikes Russian assets in Crimea
- Ukrainian forces reported strikes that put two Russian landing ships and a Sevastopol radar out of action. - Kyiv's intelligence and local reporting said all three targets were disabled during recent operations. - The strikes underscore continued Ukrainian targeting of maritime and coastal military nodes in the Black Sea theatre (kyivpost.com).
Ukraine’s military intelligence said its drones disabled two Russian landing ships and a radar station in occupied Crimea over the weekend. (kyivpost.com) The agency said its Prymary special unit struck the Project 775 landing ship Yamal and the Project 1171 landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov in Sevastopol Bay on the night of April 18-19. It also said a Podlyot-K1 radar in Sevastopol was destroyed. (pravda.com.ua) Kyiv released video it said showed the strikes, and Ukrainian outlets reported both ships were left inoperable after the attack. The two vessels are part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which has used Crimea as its main naval hub since Moscow seized the peninsula in 2014. (theins.press) (english.nv.ua) A landing ship is the kind of vessel that moves troops, armored vehicles and cargo from sea to shore. The Yamal can carry about 500 tonnes, while the Nikolai Filchenkov can carry up to 1,000 tonnes, according to Ukrainian reporting on the ships’ specifications. (pravda.com.ua) (ship-photo-roster.com) The radar Ukraine said it hit is used to spot low-flying aircraft and drones and feed targets to air-defense crews. Knocking out that sensor can make a defended port or base slower to see incoming threats. (theins.press) (oboronka.mezha.ua) The strike fits a longer Ukrainian campaign against Russian naval and coastal assets in Crimea and around the Black Sea. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said on April 20 that Ukrainian forces were continuing a long-range strike campaign against warships based in occupied Sevastopol and other military assets in occupied Crimea. (criticalthreats.org) Russian-installed Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said on April 19 that air defenses and the Black Sea Fleet were repelling a drone attack and that multiple drones had been shot down. He also acknowledged a fire at a fuel tank in the city after a separate overnight attack on April 18, but Russian authorities did not confirm damage to the two landing ships or the radar. (iz.ru) (usnews.com) Ukraine has increasingly used drones to hit targets in Sevastopol from long range, forcing Russia to defend ships in port as well as forces at sea. This latest claim keeps the pressure on the Black Sea Fleet’s main base, even when the ships are tied up at the pier. (maritime-executive.com) (aljazeera.com)
