Moscow-installed governor reports at least 24 injured as missile attack sparks large blaze at Sevastopol naval shipyard.
A Ukrainian air attack on a naval shipyard in Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea has caused a large fire and injured at least 24 people, the Moscow-installed governor of the port city said.
Mikhail Razvozhayev said on the Telegram messaging app that Ukraine carried out a missile attack in the early hours of Wednesday morning and Russian air defences had attempted to repel the incoming projectiles.
“All emergency services are working on the site, there is no danger to civilian objects in the city,” Razvozhayev said.
Sevastopol is the largest city in Crimea and a major port where the Russian Black Sea fleet is based.
Kyiv officials have promised to retake Crimea from Russian control and Ukraine has stepped up air and sea attacks on the peninsula in recent weeks.
Several Russian Telegram news monitoring channels reported that the Sevastopol shipyard, which carries out construction and repair on the ships and submarines of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was on fire.
The size of the fire and scale of damage at the shipyard was not immediately known though images posted on social media showed large flames in the darkness engulfing what seemed to be large port infrastructure. Russian Telegram channels posted videos and more photos of sizeable flames at a facility bordering water.
Ukraine’s Kyiv Independent news outlet said the attack took place at approximately 3am local time (about 00:00 GMT).
⚡️Explosions reported near occupied Sevastopol.
Photos and videos posted to Telegram on Sept. 13 appeared to show an explosion around Sevastopol, a major naval city in Russian-occupied Crimea. The blasts were reported around 3 a.m. local time.
Photo: Crimeanwind/Telegram pic.twitter.com/dwIZBXFlcg
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) September 13, 2023
Also on Wednesday morning, a Russian drone attack on the Danube river port of Izmail, in Ukraine’s Odesa region, caused a fire and civilian injuries, the regional governor said.
“Several groups of strike drones were directed to the Izmail district,” Odesa Governor Oleg Kiper said on Telegram, describing the Russian air raid on the civilian port as the action of “terrorists”.
“Damage to port and other civil infrastructure was recorded… rescuers are putting out the fire,” Kiper said, adding that six civilians were injured and taken to hospital, with three in a serious condition and three others in “moderate condition”.
Located on the border with Romania, Ukraine’s Danube river ports have become a main export route for Ukrainian agricultural products following Russia’s withdrawal from a United Nations-brokered grain deal in July and Moscow’s renewed blockade of the country’s Black Sea ports.
