Ukraine strikes Russian landing ship in missile attack on annexed Crimea port

Ukraine’s Armed Forces launched an attack on the port town of Feodosia in annexed Crimea overnight on December 26, reported the peninsula’s Kremlin-appointed head, Sergey Aksyonov. Local residents reported hearing several explosions and seeing smoke near the port, according to Russian Telegram channels.

Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said that one person was killed and four people were injured in the attack. Six buildings were also damaged, according to Aksyonov.

After the attack, the authorities redirected train routes and blocked traffic along a few of the city’s streets. The Crimean bridge was closed for approximately one hour. According to pro-Russian television channel Crimea 24, the attack also damaged the windows of a train station and a music school.

Ukraine’s Air Force command reported that Ukrainian tactical aviation had destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Novocherkassk large landing ship in the Feodosia region. In March 2022, Ukraine’s Armed Forces said it damaged the Novocherkassk ship, along with the Caesar Kunikov landing ship, in the port of occupied Berdiansk.

According to the Ukrainian military, the attack was carried out at around 2:30 a.m. local time. The ship was reportedly delivering Iranian-made Shahed drones, which Russia uses to attack Ukraine.

“And the fleet in Russia is getting even smaller! This time, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva cruiser, is followed by the large landing ship Novocherkassk,” said Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Mykola Oleshchuk.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Ukrainian Air Force:

I am grateful to our Air Force for effectively adding another submarine to Russia’s Black Sea underwater fleet.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the Novocherkassk ship was damaged in Feodosia. According to the Russian military, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used aircraft-guided missiles to carry out the attack. The ministry said the ship was damaged “while repelling an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” During the attack, air defenses destroyed two Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft that were used to launch the missiles, added the ministry.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat has denied reports that the Russian military shot down two Ukrainian planes. He didn’t specify which missiles Ukraine used to attack the port, but said that “more than just one missile” is necessary to destroy that kind of ship, since Russian troops could shoot down the missiles during an attack. Ignat added that Ukrainian Special Services participated in the operation.

On December 26, photos appeared on social media, which appeared to show the Novocherkassk ship after the attack. OSINT analyst Oliver Alexander commented on the photos, saying that half of the ship was either underwater or completely destroyed.

The authorities in annexed Crimea threatened to prosecute eyewitnesses who spread photos and videos of the fire that followed the attack. “This way, you work for the enemy, do the work of their intelligence,” said Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russia-installed head of Crimea. According to him, those who posted video footage of the strike have already been identified, and “the work of special services is being carried out.”

Ukraine’s Armed Forces also reported that it had destroyed 13 out of 19 drones launched by Russia from the southeast. The drones were shot down in Ukraine’s Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Khmelnytskyi regions.