(Reuters) – A frigate of the Russian Black Sea Fleet launched an attack with four cruise missiles on Ukraine’s military infrastructure, Russia’s defence ministry said early on Wednesday.
“The crew of a frigate of the Black Sea Fleet received a task of launching a strike with Kalibr cruise missiles in the shortest possible time against enemy military infrastructure,” the ministry said on its Telegram messaging app.
The ministry said that “the designated targets” were hit. Reuters could not independently verify the claim. There was no immediate comment early on Wednesday from Ukraine about infrastructure being hit overnight.
Reuters could not immediately establish when the attack took place. A video of the reported attack published by the ministry on the Telegram showed a ship launching missiles during what it seemed like sunrise or dawn hours, but there was also a footage of daylight.
Ukraine’s navy said late on Tuesday that the Russian navy had kept two submarines with a total equipment of up to eight Kalibr missiles on combat duty in the Black Sea as of Tuesday evening.
“The missile threat level is high,” Ukraine’s navy said on its Telegram messaging app.
The Black Sea has become a crucial theatre in the 21-month-long war. Ukraine’s increased air and sea drone attacks on Russian military targets there have damaged ship and naval repair yards in the port of Sevastopol, and struck other targets.
Moscow uses its fleet in the Black Sea to launch long-range strikes on Ukraine. But for President Vladimir Putin, the waters – which connect to the Mediterranean Sea – are also an important springboard for projecting power into the Middle East, Europe and the West.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv’s ability to strike warships and diminish Russian surveillance in the Black Sea have undermined Russia’s war efforts and helped Ukraine to secure a shipping route to export its grain.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
