Kyiv air force says it destroyed Russian warship in Crimean port

Ukraine's military said yesterday it had destroyed a Russian warship stationed in the Crimean port city of Feodosia, with video footage showing an extensive fire in the port area.

- Pjotr Sauer

The air force said it had struck the Novocherkassk, a landing ship that was stationed in Crimean waters controlled by Russia.

"The fleet in Russia is getting smaller and smaller! Thanks to the air force pilots and everyone involved for the filigree work," the commander of Ukraine's air force, Mykola Oleshchuk, said on the Telegram app.

Footage circulated by several Russian news outlets on Telegram showed powerful explosions and fires over a port area.

An unverified daytime photograph, which Russian bloggers said showed the ship's remains, depicted a charred clump of debris emerging out of the water.

Russia's defence ministry said in a statement that the Novocherkassk had been "damaged" by Ukrainian guided missiles launched by aircraft, adding that one person had been killed and two injured in the attack.

Earlier in the day, the Russiaappointed head of occupied Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said in a statement on Telegram that there had been "an enemy attack in [the] Feodosia area", adding: "Detonation has stopped and the fire has been localised."