Russian tank landing craft blown up by Ukraine

 

Ukraine destroyed a Russian tank landing craft.

Ukraine announced Tuesday that it had carried out an airstrike in Crimea that destroyed a Russian naval landing tanker, marking the biggest loss of Russian military equipment in less than a week.

In a Telegram message, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Olishchuk thanked officials involved in the "destroy of a large Novocherkassk landing craft" that illegally crossed the Ukrainian peninsula at the Crimean port of Feodosia. . . Russia was established in 2014.

Videos posted on social media show a huge explosion at the port of Feodosia.

Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run TASS news agency that the Ukrainian attack had caused "damage" to Novochersk.

The Russian-appointed leader of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, previously acknowledged in a statement that "there was an enemy attack in the Feodosia region," adding that "the explosions have stopped and the fire has been localized."

In a statement to Telegram, Aksenov did not mention Novocherkassk, but said one person was killed and two were wounded in the Ukrainian attack.

The 369-foot (112.5-meter) ship displaces about 3,450 tons, making it the size of a battleship, according to U.S. military fact sheets on the Novocherkassk and other Lopocha-class ships. Navy Coast Guard. .

According to the US military, Novocherkassk has a crew capacity of about 87 people and a military strength of 237 people. It is unclear how many passengers were on board the alleged attack in Ukraine.

The ship was designed to dock with front and rear doors and had the capacity to carry 25 armored personnel carriers on the vehicle deck.

The commander of Ukraine, General Oreshchuk, said the plane was carrying an Iranian-made Shahid attack drone.

Walsh said Ukraine is facing Russian aggression, air and ground attacks, while international support for Ukraine's war effort is waning, including the transfer of military equipment after President Zelensky's visit to Washington later this year. of

At the same time, Ukraine's military is requesting an additional 500,000 troops, parliamentary majority leader David Alkamia said in a telegram Monday.

The government is preparing a military mobilization bill to solve the recruitment problem.