Ukraine Cruise Missile Attack on Sevastopol Base: Two Ships, Submarine Damaged

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that two Russian vessels were damaged in an attack on a Sevastopol ship repair facility by Ukrainian cruise missiles.

The Ukrainian Air Force has confirmed that Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missiles are the only ones of their kind currently being used by Ukraine. This marks the first instance of such weapons being deployed against targets within Crimea.

Mykola Oleshchuk, the head of Ukraine’s Air Force, praised his pilots for their “excellent combat work” on Telegram, hinting that the weaponry was launched from Ukrainian aircraft. He also hinted at more actions to come.

Oleshchuk’s post, written in Ukrainian, suggested the use of either the UK’s Storm Shadow or France’s SCALP cruise missiles. These missiles have a range exceeding 150 miles (240km), which is three times the range of missiles previously used by Ukraine.

Sevastopol is Crimea's largest city and a key port for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Russia said the Ukrainian armed forces launched this attack with ten cruise missiles on the S.Ordzhonikidze ship repair plant and three unmanned boats, targeting Black Sea Fleet ships during a sea crossing.

According to the ministry, seven cruise missiles were intercepted by air defense systems, and the patrol ship Vasily Bykov destroyed the unmanned boats. However, two ships undergoing repairs suffered damage due to enemy cruise missile strikes.

Sevastopol's Russia-appointed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, stated that Ukraine carried out the missile attack, resulting in Russian air defenses attempting to repel the attack, and sea-based drone attacks were also thwarted. At least 24 people were injured in these attacks, he said.

Visuals posted on Telegram showed significant flames engulfing port infrastructure.

A series of explosions rocked the Sevastopol Shipyard in the early hours of Wednesday morning and footage posted to social media showed a large blaze at the maritime facility.

Russia’s defense ministry said the attack involved ten cruise missiles and “three unmanned boats,” claiming all but three of the missiles had been intercepted.

On Wednesday morning in an exclusive comment to Kyiv Post, a source in Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR) confirmed Kyiv had carried out the attack, adding: “There is information about at least the destruction of a large landing ship and a submarine."