The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) has said it destroyed the Russian tank landing ship Novocherkassk in the port of Feodosia in occupied Crimea in the early hours of Tuesday.
“At approximately 02:30 AM on 26 December, the tactical Air Force attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s large landing ship, Novocherkassk, near Feodosia, with cruise missiles," the Ukrainian Air Force wrote on Telegram, adding that it had also shot down 13 of the 19 Shahed drones launched at Ukrainian targets by Russia overnight.
The head of annexed Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, confirmed the attack by the AFU on Feodosia, without mentioning the ship. “An enemy attack occurred near Feodosia. The port area is now sealed off. The attack has now ended and any fire has been brought under control,” he wrote on his Telegram channel on Tuesday morning.
Aksyonov added that one person had been killed in the attack, two more had been injured, and six buildings had been damaged.
The Russian Defence Ministry later confirmed the attack on the Novocherkassk, confirming the ship was “damaged” during attempts to repel the AFU strike. “During the air battle, two enemy Su-24 aircraft were destroyed," it said.