Ukraine said Sunday, April 20, its navy had struck a salvage ship belonging to Russia's Black Sea fleet on the annexed Crimean peninsula, putting it out of service. It did not say where the attack took place, but social media footage purportedly filmed in the Crimean port of Sevastopol showed a ship in flames.
"Today, the Ukrainian Navy hit the Russian salvage ship 'Kommuna' in temporarily occupied Crimea," Ukraine's defense ministry said. The Russian navy used the ship for deep-sea work, including raising submarines and sunken cargo, and was one of the oldest in service, Ukraine said.
Ukrainian navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said the damage caused by the attack was unclear but that the ship was "no longer capable" of performing its tasks. "This will continue to happen until the Russians run out of ships or leave Crimea," he said.
The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said earlier that Moscow's military had "repelled an attack by an anti-ship missile" on a vessel at the port. He did not say which ship was attacked, but said "fallen fragments caused a small fire, which was promptly extinguished."
Russia said Sunday its forces had gained territory near the key battleground town of Chasiv Yar in east Ukraine, highlighting the pressure facing Kyiv as it gears up to receive $61 billion in new US aid. Russia's defense ministry said Sunday it had taken control of Bogdanivka, a small frontline village less than three kilometers northeast of Chasiv Yar.
"Units of the southern grouping of troops have completely liberated the settlement of Bogdanivka," the ministry said. Chasiv Yar, which had a population of about 13,000 before the conflict, has been largely destroyed by fighting and most residents have fled.