Ukraine says it damaged another Russian ship in Black Sea, near Snake Island
- Russian support vessel was struck as it tried to deliver an anti-aircraft system to Snake Island, Ukrainian official says
- Claimed attack on ship came as Russian forces struggled to make headway in Ukraine’s north and east
Ukraine said it had damaged a Russian navy logistics ship near Snake Island, a small but strategic outpost in the Black Sea.
Renewed fighting around Snake Island in recent days may become a battle for control of the western Black Sea coast, according to some defence officials, as Russian forces battled to make headway in Ukraine’s north and east.
“Thanks to the actions of our naval seamen, the support vessel Vsevolod Bobrov caught fire – it is one of the newest in the Russian fleet,” said Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said the Russian ship was hit as it was trying to deliver an anti-aircraft system to Snake Island. He said the ship was badly damaged but was not believed to have sunk.
There was no confirmation from Russia and no reports of casualties.
Satellite imagery provided by Maxar, a private US-based company, showed the aftermath of what it said were probable missile attacks on a Russian Serna-class landing craft near the island, close to Ukraine’s sea border with Romania.
Images also showed recent damage to buildings on the island, which became famous for the foul-mouthed defiance of its Ukrainian defenders early in the invasion.
The British Ministry of Defence said this week that Ukraine has been targeting Russian air defences and supply vessels on Snake Island in an effort to disrupt Moscow’s efforts to expand its control over the Black Sea coastline.
The Ukrainian military last month sank the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. In March, the military destroyed the landing ship Saratov.
Ukraine’s claimed attack on the Vsevolod Bobrov logistics ship came as Russian forces struggled to make headway in Ukraine’s north and east.
Ukraine said it had driven Russian troops out of the region around the second largest city Kharkiv, the fastest advance since forcing the Kremlin’s forces from Kyiv and the northeast over a month ago.
Reuters journalists have confirmed Ukraine was in control of territory stretching to the banks of the Siverskiy Donets River, around 40km (25 miles) east of Kharkiv.
Footage released by Ukrainian Airborne Forces Command appeared to show several burnt out military vehicles and a segments of a bridge seemingly destroyed and partially submerged in the river.
Ukrainian ministry officials said that Russian troops were trying to block Kyiv’s forces from advancing as far as the Ukrainian-Russian border in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Russia says it repelled Ukraine’s attempts to reclaim Snake Island
“In the direction of Kharkiv, Russian army units are regrouping and trying to prevent the further advance of our troops in the direction of the state border of Ukraine,” defence ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said.
He did not clarify how close Ukrainian forces were to the border.
According to the defence ministry briefing, Moscow’s troops were opening fire “along the entire line of confrontation” in Ukraine’s east, and attempting to penetrate Ukrainian defences.
Russia’s army said it struck Donetsk and Kharkiv on Thursday, killing more than 170 people and destroying Ukrainian drones and rockets.
Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse
