The attack took place on Friday, Ukraine’s official war.ukraine.ua website confirmed, citing the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It appeared that Ukraine struck Russia’s naval HQ in Sevastopol with a UK-provided Storm Shadow missile, launched from a Ukrainian Su-24 fighter jet, Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper reported.
The missile punched a huge hole in the building, sending a large plume of smoke into the sky, according to The Telegraph.
“The enemy launched a missile attack on the headquarters of the fleet,” the Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev confirmed.
Air defence systems brought down a wave of five missiles on Friday, Russian officials added.
Later in the day, the commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, confirmed his forces were behind the attack, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
“We promised there would be more,” he wrote on the Telegram social messaging app. “I thank the pilots of the Air Force once again.”
Oleshchuk also shared a video from Sevastopol, according to PAP.
Sevastopol is the largest city in occupied Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, The Telegraph noted.
Ukraine has recently stepped up attacks on Russian military facilities in Crimea, especially the Black Sea Fleet, heavily damaging a Russian submarine and warship in a similar strike earlier this month, the UK newspaper added.
Russia strikes Ukraine's Kremenchuk, killing one person: officials
Later on Friday, Russia launched a missile attack on Ukraine's central city of Kremenchuk, killing one person, the PAP news agency reported.
The strike targeted civilian infrastructure and injured a further 15 people, including a child, according to regional officials.
Friday is day 576 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
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Source: PAP, The Telegraph, war.ukraine.ua