Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) listens to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during their meeting at the Severnaya Verf shipyard, in St Petersburg, Russia, on Dec 25, 2023. (SPUTNIK, KREMLIN POOL PHOTO VIA AP)
KIEV/MOSCOW - The Ukrainian military said Tuesday it hit a Russian naval ship in Crimea with cruise missiles.
Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said Novocherkassk, a large landing ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was struck in the raid.
Meanwhile, Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said the ship stationed in the port of Feodosia was hit by cruise missiles.
Ukraine is armed with Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles, Ignat said, not specifying which of them was used in the attack.
The Kremlin confirmed earlier that the large landing ship Novocherkassk was damaged in a Ukrainian missile attack on the port town of Feodosia in Crimea on Tuesday.
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The Russian air defense destroyed two Ukrainian Su-24 tactical aircraft near the city of Nikolaev
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin on the overnight attack, the Kremlin said.
Shoigu said the Ukrainian armed forces conducted the attack using aircraft-guided missiles, targeting the Feodosia base in Crimea.
The Russian air defense destroyed two Ukrainian Su-24 tactical aircraft near the city of Nikolaev.
Sergey Aksenov, head of Crimea, said earlier in the day that one person was killed and at least two others injured in the attack.
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Also on Tuesday, Shoigu said the Russian army has achieved its major goal for 2023 by thwarting Ukraine's counteroffensive.
The Russian forces are also gaining more favorable positions and expanding its control in all directions in the battlefield, Shoigu was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying.
"We are consistently moving towards achieving the stated goals of the special operation," he said.
