In a concise statement, the Ukrainian military asserted that a missile strike had targeted the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula on September 22.
The attack was aimed at a meeting of the Russian Navy’s leadership and resulted in significant casualties. Although the Ukrainian military confirmed deaths and injuries, they did not provide specific details. Kyrylo Budanov, the intelligence chief in Kyiv, stated that two Russian commanders sustained serious injuries as a result of the missile strike.
Moscow reported that one serviceman was missing following the attack, which targeted the highly regarded Russian Black Sea Fleet based in Sevastopol.
According to a Ukrainian military source, the attack utilized Storm Shadow missiles, supplied by Britain and France. The strike was announced via the Telegram messaging app, with Ukraine’s defense forces claiming success in hitting the Russian Black Sea fleet command headquarters in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol around noon on September 22.
The Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, reported that emergency services had brought the fire in the building under control. He also mentioned ongoing efforts to pour water on damaged sections of the building and dismantle compromised structures, which might result in road closures.
Razvozhayev noted that Sevastopol residents spontaneously gathered in the streets, singing the Russian national anthem, and emphasized the resilience of the city, with no reported civilian casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure. Ukraine has escalated its attacks in the Black Sea and Crimea, which were annexed by Russia in 2014, as part of a nearly four-month-old counteroffensive to regain Russian-occupied territory. Ukrainian officials have justified these attacks on Russian military targets in Russian-held territory as legitimate.
