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KYIV — Ukrainian forces on Friday fired a barrage of missiles at the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea — striking a target thought to be heavily protected and demonstrating Kyiv’s growing ability to attack Russian military infrastructure throughout the peninsula.
The communications center for Ukraine’s armed forces posted a statement saying that “around 12:00, the Ukrainian defense forces successfully struck the command headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in temporarily-occupied Sevastopol,” located on the southwest tip of Crimea, which Russia invaded and illegally annexed in 2014.
No further details of the strike were given, and it was not immediately clear what type of missiles were used, but the commander of Ukraine’s air force issued a statement that appeared to mock Russian claims that all of the missiles had been shot down by air defenses. The statement also referenced another strike this week on a Russian base in the occupied city of Melitopol.
“We promised that ‘there will be more,’” Mykola Oleschuk, the air force commander, posted on social media. “So, while the occupiers are recovering in Melitopol, and air alarms are still sounding in Sevastopol, I thank the pilots of the Air Force once again!”
“All missiles were intercepted!” Oleschuk continued, with eent sarcasm. “I hope that next time Russian air defense will again not let us down.”
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, tweeted that Russian forces should destroy their ships before Ukrainian forces arrive.
“Otherwise, the Russian Black Sea Fleet will be sliced up like a salami,” Danilov wrote.
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While the Ukrainian claims could not be independently corroborated, posted to social media on Friday, verified by Storyful and confirmed by The Washington Post, showed smoke rising from the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet.
Damage to the building would indicate a remarkable failure by Russia’s air defenses. Russia had maintained the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol under a lease agreement since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russian military personnel stationed there are believed to have participated in the invasion of Crimea in 2014.
The fleet and its headquarters are obvious high-profile targets for Ukraine, which has pledged to oust the Russian occupiers from all of its territory — including Crimea and areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that have been under Russia’s control for nearly a decade.
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The assault follows a number of attacks in Crimea and specifically on the Black Sea Fleet in recent weeks, including an apparent missile strike on a submarine and landing vessel in Sevastopol this month. Another attack reportedly damaged a Russian air defense system.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Kremlin-installed governor of Crimea, confirmed on social media that a missile struck the Black Sea Fleet headquarters. He said that firefighters were trying to put out a fire in the building and that the shock wave from the blast “broke glass in 10 residential buildings in the city center.”
Russian news channels reported that six people were injured, but there was no official confirmation. Russia’s Defense Ministry initially said one person was killed, which it later changed to “missing.”
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Photos on social media showed the building with a large hole in its upper stories and smoke rising over the center of Sevastopol.
Ukraine’s long-range offensive capabilities appear set to increase in the near future. The Biden administration is close to an announcement on proing Kyiv with a version of ATACMS missiles armed with cluster bomblets — with a range of up to 190 miles — according to several people familiar with the ongoing deliberations.
Ukraine has requested hundreds of the missiles, which could allow its forces to strike Russian targets far beyond the front lines.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continued his whirlwind trip to North America, visiting Canada, where he met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa and addressed the parliament.
This week, he delivered impassioned speeches to the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Security Council in New York, followed by meetings in Washington at the White House with President Biden, congressional leaders at the Capitol and military commanders at the Pentagon.
Closer to home, Kyiv’s search for markets for its agricultural products led to tensions with its neighbors this week, following the expiration of an agreement with the European Union limiting Ukrainian imports.
Poland, Hungary and Slovakia said they would continue to enforce the ban on Ukrainian grain to protect their own farmers. Ukrainian officials later said they were in talks with their Slovakian counterparts to reach a compromise.
But the dispute with Poland exploded Tuesday when Zelensky, during his speech to the U.N. General Assembly, accused “some in Europe” of feigning solidarity in an act of “political theater,” creating a dispute that would play to Moscow’s advantage.
Poland summoned the Ukrainian ambassador in Warsaw on Wednesday in response to the comments; on Thursday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced Warsaw was halting new weapons shipments to Kyiv.
Polish President Andrzej Duda later attempted to de-escalate the situation, saying Poland could transfer weapons from old army stocks “just as we have done before.”
Still, Russia made no effort to conceal its delight over the rift, which pits Kyiv against one of its closest allies.
“We predict that the tension between Warsaw and Kiev will increase,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday.
Peskov added that “friction will also grow between Kyiv and other European capitals, it is inevitable.” In the meantime, he said, “we are continuing our special military operation,” using Moscow’s preferred term for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On Friday, 16 people were injured in a Russian attack on Kurakhove, in the eastern Donetsk region, according to a local Ukrainian official.
Dmytro Lunin, head of the Poltava military administration, said Russian forces launched a missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Friday.
“Unfortunately, there was a hit on civilian infrastructure,” killing one person and injuring 15, Lunin wrote on social media.
Natalia Abbakumova in Riga, Latvia, and Anastacia Galouchka contributed to this report.
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