Ukraine has reportedly launched its “biggest attack” against Russia’s military forces in the Crimean city of Sevastopol.
According to Ukrainian military intelligence official Andriy Yusov, the country struck the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the city.
“We confirm a large landing vessel and submarine were hit. We do not comment on the means [used] for the strike,” Yusov told reporters.
Russia confirmed the attack on the fleet, claiming that Ukrainian forces deployed 10 cruise missiles and sea drones to hit vessels in the harbor that were being repaired as well as attack ships at sea, causing fires that resulted in the destruction of two warships and the injury of several people.
The Russian defense ministry added that it shot down seven of Ukraine’s cruise missiles, while the sea drones were destroyed by Russian forces. They also said that both damaged ships are expected to be fully repaired and “will continue to serve in combat as part of their fleets.”
Retired Ukrainian navy captain Andriy Ryzhenko told reporters that the attack was “the biggest attack on Sevastopol since the beginning of the war.”
Sevastopol is the largest city in Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine in 2014 and serves as the base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
This comes as the war in Ukraine could finally reach its end as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his confidence that Russia would lose the war.
“Today we are confident that Russia will lose this war,” Zelenskyy said recently, thanking Denmark and the Netherlands for their F-16 fighter jets.
Russia had previously warned that giving the jets to Ukraine would only cause the already prolonged war to worsen. Nearly 5 percent of Ukraine’s land is currently occupied by Russian forces, and Kyiv is working hard to push them out.
The Ukrainian leader also reiterated that the war will soon be over and that Russian President Vladimir Putin will die within ten years.
“Putin will not live for so many years,” he said. “At the pace at which he is fighting with us, he didn’t fight [like that] in Syria.
“He won’t withstand it. He won’t live for 30 more years. He will die – this is completely clear,” he continued. “But he won’t survive ten years either. He’s not the same figure anymore.”
