Ukrainian Defense Forces have launched another successful strike on the russian-occupied Crimea. This time, missiles hit the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet of the russian federation in Sevastopol. The severe damage caused to the building is confirmed by photos and videos shot by local residents.
Commander of the Air Force of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk has officially thanked the Ukrainian pilots for the effective strike and says, "I hope, next time russian air defense once again won't let us down," as he hints to the statement from the russian Ministry of Defense saying all the missiles were shot down.
Read more: The UK Defense Intelligence Analyzed an Unusual Intensity of Attacks Over the Last Week
The missiles rained down on the russian Black Sea Fleet HQ at around 13:10 local time, September 22nd. The russians noticed the threat beforehand and deployed smoke screens in the harbor. Air defense missiles were seen launched from the proximity of Belbek airfield near Sevastopol. Despite these measures, the HQ was hit.
There is no credible information about how many missiles reached the target, though we can see in the photo above that one of them collided into a side wall of the building, and one floor partially collapsed.
Then, a fire broke out but almost an hour after the strike, no firefighters were seen at the scene. Later, russian defense ministry admitted some damage caused to the headquarters and reported one person going missing as a result. As of 17:20, the fire was still raging inside the building.
Worth noting, this is not the first attempt to destroy the Black Sea Fleet headquarters. More than a year ago, on July 31, 2022, Ukrainians tried to do the same with a drone, then on August 20 with a Chinese Mugin-5 PRO commercial drone adjusted to carry explosive payload.
Earlier Defense Express reported that a Ukrainian Storm Shadow missile struck a backup command center of the Black Sea Fleet in Verkhnyosadove, Satellite photos from the site show that the reserve command post was completely destroyed.
Read more: Satellite Images Showing a Well-aimed Attack by Storm Shadow on russia’s Fleet Command Post Have Been Released
