The Ukrainian military’s Special Forces (SSO) said on Saturday that Friday’s attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was an operation they orchestrated, codenamed “Crab Trap”.
The headquarters of the Russian Navy in Sevastopol, hit by Ukrainian missilesPhoto: east2west news / WillWest News / Profimedia
“The daring and painstaking work of the Special Operations Forces allowed them to strike ‘on time and with precision’ the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet during a meeting of the Russian fleet’s senior staff in the temporarily occupied city of Sevastopol,” it said on SSO’s Telegram account.
Ukrainian special forces obtained information about the high-level Russian military meeting and passed it on to the air force, which fired the missiles that hit the Sevastopol building.
“The details of the attack will be revealed as soon as possible, but the result is dozens of dead and injured occupants, including high-ranking fleet commanders,” the quoted source said.
Two Russian generals were seriously wounded, Admiral Sokolov’s condition is unknown
The Ukrainian attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol killed at least 9 people and wounded 16, including Russian generals, said Kirilo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service.
“A group commander, Colonel-General (Aleksandr) Romanciuk, is among the wounded and is in serious condition. The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General (Oleg) Tsekov, is in a state of unconsciousness,” Budanov told Voice of America.
Romanchiuk is the commander of a group of Russian forces in the Zaporozhye region and was promoted to the rank of colonel general in 2023. Lieutenant General Oleg Tsekov is the commander of the 200th Mechanized Rifle Brigade of the Separate Guard, part of the Coastal Forces of the Northern Fleet of Russian Navy.
Budanov did not confirm the unofficial information regarding the alleged death of Admiral Viktor Sokolov, commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The Ukrainian military intelligence service has no information on his condition.
Sevastopol strike: At least two missiles hit their targets
A clip that has surfaced online shows a missile hitting the headquarters of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea. Thick smoke was already billowing from the building, suggesting that two missiles, most likely Storm Shadow, had hit their target.
Satellite images confirm that the strike caused significant damage to the building.
The Ukrainian military claimed the “successful strike” on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on Friday, and the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mikola Olesciuk, publicly praised the pilots of the Ukrainian planes that launched the missiles in this operation.
“We promise that there will be more”, added the same commander, after lately Russian military objectives in the Crimean peninsula have been attacked almost daily by the Ukrainian army with missiles and aerial or surface drones.
Ukraine used in these attacks Franco-British Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles, launched by Sukhoi SU-24 planes, and Neptun anti-ship missiles produced in Ukraine and adapted to hit land targets.
Another Ukrainian attack took place during the night of Wednesday to Thursday at the Sakî airbase in Crimea, occupied and illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. In that attack, Ukrainian forces used domestically developed Neptun missiles.
The Ukrainians also hit the Sevastopol shipyard
The new attack comes after on September 13 the Sevastopol shipyard in Crimea caught fire in the morning of that day, while two ships were damaged after a Ukrainian attack with 10 missiles and three fast boats on the port here.
Governor Razvojayev said at the time that at least 24 people were injured in the attack, while the Russian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed 3 maritime drones used by the Ukrainians in the attack on the shipyard.
Satellite images taken after the attack showed that the attack caused significant damage to a landing craft and a large Russian submarine, with naval analysts saying they were unlikely to be able to be repaired.
Kiev said at the time that British and French cruise missiles, launched by a Ukrainian bomber, were used during the attack and that they worked “perfectly”.
Lieutenant General Mikola Olesciuk, head of the Ukrainian Air Force, explained that the British Storm Shadow missiles were attached under the left wing of a Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft, and the French Scalp missiles under the right wing.
