KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's military said on Friday its operations had resulted in the destruction of a total of 15 Russian naval vessels in the Black Sea since the start of Russia's invasion and that 12 other vessels had been damaged.
Ukraine has stepped up its attacks in the Black Sea and on Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014.
Ukraine's military said its operations carried out in the Black Sea so far have included strikes on the Russian Black Sea Navy headquarters in Sevastopol and the shipyard in Kerch, which damaged a vessel that had not yet joined the fleet.
In April 2022, shortly after the start of the war, Ukraine's forces said it hit the Moskva missile cruiser, flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, with domestically produced a Neptune anti-ship missile.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recently said Kyiv had managed to shift the balance of power in the Black Sea, seizing the initiative from Moscow which regards Crimea as strategically vital to its interests.
Persons:
Dmytro Pletenchuk, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Yuliia Dysa, Gareth Jones
Organizations:
Kyiv, Reuters, Russian Black Sea Navy
Locations:
Ukraine, Crimea, Russia, Kyiv, Novorossiysk, Russian, Sevastopol, Kerch, Moscow