Video shows 'powerful blast' as Ukraine hits Russian warship in Black Sea
Video shows the huge explosion as Ukraine destroyed a vital Russian war ship in a Black Sea port, Political Correspondent Shehab Khan reports
Ukrainian warplanes damaged a Russian ship moored in the Black Sea off Crimea, both countries said Tuesday.
The strike has bolstered Ukrainian morale after battlefield disappointments and doubts about the future of Western aid.
Russia’s defence ministry conceded that the Novocherkassk landing ship had been damaged by plane-launched guided missiles.
Ukrainian authorities claimed the 360-foot Novocherkassk ship, which can carry 10 tanks and 225 sailors, was destroyed.
They claimed the ship was probably carrying weapons including drones.
“We saw how powerful the blast and detonation were. It’s extremely difficult for a ship to survive something like that,” Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on US-backed Radio Liberty.
“The Russian fleet has become smaller,” Ukrainian air force Cmdr. Mykola Oleschuk said in a mocking message on the social media app Telegram. He urged Russians to leave Crimea “while it’s not too late.”
The blow to Vladimir Putin’s fleet comes at a crucial time for Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as he strives to shore up military aid from Western allies amid some unease at the spending.
This week, President Joe Biden is struggling to secure congressional support for continuing American assistance to Ukraine, with no sign of a bipartisan deal to maintain the flow of supplies as the war approaches its third year.
He has repeatedly promised the United States would back Ukraine for “as long as it takes” to defeat the Russian invasion.
Britain has welcomed claims that Ukraine has destroyed a Russian naval ship in an air strike on a Black Sea port as a sign the war has not reached a “stalemate” and said it was evidence that Ukraine’s critics are “wrong”.
In a statement, Mr Shapps said: “This latest destruction of Putin’s navy demonstrates that those who believe there’s a stalemate in the Ukraine war are wrong.
“They haven’t noticed that over the past 4 months 20% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been destroyed.
“Russia’s dominance in the Black Sea is now challenged and the new UK & Norway led Maritime Capability Coalition is helping to ensure Ukraine will win at sea.”
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