KYIV: Ukraine claimed Tuesday that its forces had destroyed a Russian military patrol boat on the Black Sea near the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia 10 years ago.
\nThe strategic waterway has become an increasingly important battleground as Ukrainian forces claim a string of attacks on Moscow\u2019s fleet.
\nUkraine\u2019s military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov said the ship had been hit previously but was destroyed after the overnight attack by maritime drones.
\n\u201cAs for the crew, the details are being clarified. There are dead and wounded. But it is likely that some of the crew managed to evacuate,\u201d he told Ukrainian media.
\nThere was no official response from the Russian defense ministry.
\nUkraine\u2019s military intelligence said earlier that their drones struck the ship near the Kerch Strait, causing \u201cdamage to the stern, starboard and port sides.\u201d
\nThe Ukrainian president\u2019s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said that Russia\u2019s Black Sea fleet is \u201ca symbol of the occupation,\u201d adding that, \u201cit cannot be in Ukraine\u2019s Crimea.\u201d
\nUkraine\u2019s air force said earlier Tuesday it had downed 18 of 22 Iranian-designed attack drones launched by Russia over the Black Sea port city of Odesa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV: Ukraine claimed Tuesday that its forces had destroyed a Russian military patrol boat on the Black Sea near the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia 10 years ago. The strategic waterway has become an increasingly important battleground as Ukrainian forces claim a string of attacks on Moscow\u2019s fleet. Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391590,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-391579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n