Kyiv, Sep 13: A Ukrainian attack on a strategic shipyard early on Wednesday in Russia-annexed Crimea wounded 24 people, damaged two ships undergoing repairs and caused a fire at the facility, Russian authorities reported.
The attack in the port city of Sevastopol, which serves as the main base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, took place as Moscow launched drones against southern Ukraine’s Odesa region. The pre-dawn onslaught there damaged port and civilian infrastructure in the region’s Izmail district – not far from the Crimean city – and wounded seven people, three seriously, Governor Oleh Kiper said.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 32 of 44 Shahed-type drones launched over the country overnight, most of them directed toward the southern parts of the Odesa region.
The fighting occurred as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a summit that the US has warned could lead to a deal to supply Moscow’s depleted troops in Ukraine with arms.
The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in an act that most of the world considered illegal, has been a frequent target since Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than 18 months ago.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to do all he can to bring back Crimea and has urged international allies to support the effort.
On Monday, Ukraine claimed it recaptured strategic gas and oil drilling platforms in the Black Sea that Russia seized in 2015. Russia had used the platforms to stage weapons and launch helicopters, and Ukraine said they would help it regain Crimea. (AP)
