©2023 Maxar Technologies via Agence France-Presse Ukrainian and Russian attacks around the Black Sea have intensified since Moscow's withdrawal from the grain agreement.
Ukraine fired cruise missiles on Saturday at a shipyard on the eastern coast of the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia, the Russian government confirmed on Sunday.
The shots damaged a ship and caused debris to fall onto a quay, Russian authorities admitted.
Since launching its counter-offensive against Moscow's forces this summer, kyiv has increased attacks on the peninsula, targeting the Russian Black Sea Fleet. “On November 4, the Ukrainian army launched 15 cruise missiles at the B.E. Butoma [Zaliv] shipyard in the city of Kerch,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday, according to state media.
“Air defense systems shot down 13 of the cruise missiles,” the ministry added, specifying that “a ship located at the factory [had] been damaged after being hit by a cruise missile enemy.”
The ministry did not specify the severity of the damage suffered by the ship or the name of the vessel attacked.
Debris from the downed missiles also fell on a nearby quay, but no one was injured, Crimean Governor Sergei Aksionov said, set up by Moscow.
The neighboring Crimea bridge and the Russian mainland, which has previously been 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 maritime and port infrastructure at the Zaliv shipyard in the temporarily occupied city of Kerch,” the Ukrainian army announced on Saturday.
The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mikola Oleschuk , clarified on Saturday evening that a Kalibr cruise missile carrier was stationed at the shipyard and thanked the pilots for these strikes which he described as “successful”.
In September, the Ukraine had launched a missile attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol.