Ukraine executed a missile attack on Friday targeting the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, according to a Russian official. Social media images depicted substantial plumes of smoke emanating from Sevastopol harbor in Crimea, which Russia annexed.
The appointed Russian governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, refrained from providing specific details, indicating only that emergency services had been dispatched to the strike site and there was no available information regarding casualties.
Razvozhayev cautioned Sevastopol inhabitants that the possibility of “another attack is possible,” advising them to stay indoors and avoid the city center.
“Those near the fleet headquarters should seek shelter upon hearing the siren,” he advised. He also mentioned that firefighters were engaged in combating a blaze resulting from the attack. Additional emergency personnel were being mobilized, suggesting the fire’s scale could be significant.
As of the report, Ukraine had not claimed responsibility for the assault.
Residents of Sevastopol reported hearing explosions and witnessing smoke, as per Russian news outlets. Images circulated on Ukrainian Telegram channels displayed smoke clouds along the seafront. The authenticity of these videos could not be immediately verified by The Associated Press.
This attack occurred on the heels of a day when Russian missiles and artillery barraged cities throughout Ukraine, resulting in a minimum of five casualties. This assault coincided with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with President Joe Biden and congressional leaders in Washington, where an additional $24 billion aid package for Ukraine was under consideration.
In another development, ongoing shelling in the southern Kherson region claimed one life and left another individual injured, reported regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
“Kherson has been in turmoil since the morning,” he communicated via Telegram.
Russian shelling caused fires in a residential building and a garage.
Oleh Synyehubov, the regional governor of Kharkiv, stated that over 14 settlements had come under attack. In Vovchansk, within the Chuguyiv district, a residence sustained damage and a fire erupted. Fortunately, there were no reported casualties, the governor confirmed.
