The Ukrainian military said that it destroyed Russia's "last cruise missile carrier" in the Black Sea during a successful operation on the Moscow-occupied Crimean Peninsula last weekend, dealing a significant blow to Vladimir Putin's ongoing offensive, RadarOnline.com can report.
"According to updated information, the Ukrainian defense forces hit a Russian project 22800 Tsiklon missile ship in Sevastopol, on the night of May 19," the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed on May 21, per Reuters. The same long-range attack reportedly also destroyed a Russian minesweeping navy vessel, Kovrovets.
Although Ukraine lacks a powerful fleet of its own, its navy has carried out missile and drone attacks on Russia's Black Sea Fleet throughout the war with Russia.
Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the strikes targeting the Black Sea Fleet have prompted Russia to withdraw its ships from Crimea and that "the most valuable assets are all withdrawn," The Kyiv Independentreports.
The Strategic Communications Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (StratCom) reported that as of early February 2024, 33% of the Black Sea Fleet’s warships had been destroyed or disabled, including 24 ships and one submarine.
In response to the string of losses in the region, the Kremlin replaced the commander of the Russian navy in March, with Adm. Alexander Moiseyev appointed to take over for Adm. Nikolay Yevmenov.
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As the war with Ukraine rages on, Putin has begun shaking up his top military officials with a series of high-profile arrests on bribery and corruption charges.
Lt. Gen. Vadim Shamarin, deputy chief of the army's general staff and head of the Main Communications Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, was detained on Thursday after being accused of large-scale bribery.
Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, senior defense ministry procurement official Vladimir Verteletsky, Defense Ministry's personnel directorate head Lt. Gen. Yury Keznetsov, and Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov, a former top commander in Russia's offensive in Ukraine, have also been arrested in the crackdown since April.