Ukraine bombs shipyard in Russian-occupied Crimea

The Russian government confirmed on Sunday that Ukraine fired cruise missiles at a shipyard on the eastern coast of the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed.

Russian authorities admitted that the shots destroyed a ship and caused debris to fall on the pier.

Since launching its counteroffensive against Moscow’s forces this summer, Kiev has intensified its attacks on the peninsula, targeting Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

“On November 4, the Ukrainian army fired 15 cruise missiles at the PE Potoma (Zaliv) shipyard in the city of Kerch,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday, according to state media.

The ministry said, “Air defense systems shot down 13 cruise missiles,” adding that “a ship that was present at the factory was damaged after it was hit by an enemy cruise missile.”

The ministry did not specify the extent of the damage to the ship or the name of the ship that was attacked.

Moscow-appointed Crimean Governor Sergei Aksyonov said debris from the shot down missiles also fell on a nearby sidewalk, but no one was hurt.

The nearby bridge between Crimea and the Russian mainland, previously targeted by Ukrainian forces, was briefly closed on Saturday for unknown reasons.

“On the evening of November 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully carried out strikes against the naval and port infrastructure of the Zaliv shipyard in the temporarily occupied city of Kerch,” the Ukrainian military announced on Saturday.

The Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleschuk, explained on Saturday evening that a “Caliber” cruise missile carrier was stationed at the shipyard, and he thanked the pilots for these strikes, which he described as “successful.”

Since launching its counteroffensive against Moscow’s forces this summer, Kiev has intensified its attacks on the Black Sea peninsula, which Russia captured in 2014.

In September, Ukraine launched a missile attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the coastal city of Sevastopol in Crimea.