The Russian army on Saturday accused Ukraine of a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea fleet in Crimea and claimed Britain helped the strike that damaged a ship.
Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea, which has come under repeated attacks in recent months, serves as the fleet’s headquarters and a logistical hub for operations in Ukraine.
The Russian army claimed to have “destroyed” nine air drones and seven sea drones in an attack early Saturday in the port.
Moscow’s armed forces claimed British “specialists” who they said were stationed in the southern Ukrainian city of Ochakiv were helping Kyiv prepare and train to conduct the strike.
In further prominence from Britain – which Moscow sees as one of the unfriendliest western countries – Moscow said the same British entity was involved in explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipeline last month.
Moscow’s military said ships targeting its base in Crimea were involved in a UN-brokered deal to allow Ukrainian grain to be exported.
Russia recently criticized the agreement, saying its own grain exports had suffered under Western sanctions.
– ‘Major attack –
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, said Saturday’s drone attack was the “most massive” the peninsula has ever seen.
The city’s services were “on alert” but he claimed no “civilian infrastructure” had been damaged.
He urged city residents not to post videos of the incident on social media.
“It should be clear to everyone that such information is badly needed for Ukrainian Nazis to understand how our city’s defenses are constructed,” he said.
City authorities said the port was “temporarily” closed to boats and ferries and urged people “not to panic”.
Attacks on Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, have escalated in recent weeks as Kyiv launches a counteroffensive in the south to push to retake months of Moscow-held land.
Moscow-installed authorities in Kherson, north of Crimea, have vowed to turn the city into a fortress and prepare for an inevitable attack.
On Thursday, Razvozhayev said a thermal power plant was attacked in Balaklava in the Sevastopol region.
He claimed there was little property damage and no injuries.
In early October, Moscow’s bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia — personally inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2018 — was damaged by a blast that Putin blamed on Ukraine.
The Russian fleet stationed in the port was also attacked by a drone in August.
Russia’s accusations came on Saturday as the Ukrainian army reported fighting in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions in the east, including near Bakhmut – the only area where Moscow’s forces have advanced in recent weeks.
Pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside Moscow also announced a new prisoner swap with Kyiv, saying 50 from each side will return home.
On the southern front, AFP journalists witnessed artillery fire in the village of Kobzartsi, the last settlement on the Ukrainian side before the line of contact with the Russians.
“Something can go wrong here. But we know they suffer a lot more on their side than on ours,” said Ukrainian soldier Oleksiy in his 20s.
Both sides were preparing to fight for the city of Kherson, the region’s capital, which fell to Moscow forces in the first days of their offensive.
