Ukraine launches missile attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea, official says

Ukraine has launched a missile attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Crimea, said on Friday.

“The enemy launched a missile attack on the headquarters of the fleet,” Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram.

Over the past month, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian military bases and other installations, including air defenses, in Crimea.

Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters, is one of the largest cities on the Crimean peninsula and was illegally annexed by Moscow’s forces in 2014.

Russian state media TASS reported that debris was “scattered for hundreds of meters” following the missile strike. TASS added that a large number of ambulances were on their way to the scene of the attack.

Razvozhayev also said a piece of shrapnel fell near the Lunacharsky Theater.

The Russian-appointed governor said operational services went to the scene of the attack and that information about any casualties is being clarified.

In an update later Friday, Razvozhayev said there was no more “missile and aviation danger” following the incident.

Razvozhayev had previously warned that another attack was possible and encouraged residents to avoid the city center.

Ukrainian officials have yet to comment on the incident.

Over the past month, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian military bases and other installations, including air defenses, in Crimea.

In recent weeks, Ukraine launched a missile attack on a shipyard in Sevastopol. Officials said a Russian S-400 missile system was destroyed in Crimea, and most recently a Russian command post near Sevastopol on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Ukraine Defense Intelligence spokesman, Andrii Yusov, told Ukrainian television that “Crimea is still being used as a logistics hub for, among other things, the transfer of enemy forces and means to other parts of the front,” and stated that “in order to destroy this logistics hub, certain operations are being used and implemented: at sea, on land, and in the air.”