Last Friday, Ukraine attacked the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, located in the center of Sevastopol, Crimea, with missiles, the local governor said, expressing fears of a possible new attack.
“The enemy carried out a rocket attack on the fleet headquarters,” the governor of the Sevastopol administrative region, Mikhail Razvoyaev, said on social media, as quoted by the French agency TASS.
Razvoyaev said rescue teams had been sent to the scene to check for casualties.
“Air mobile units [helicópteros e aviões] are ready and the fire brigade is taking all measures to extinguish the fire as quickly as possible,” he said, according to Spanish news agency EFE.
According to the Russian state agency TASS, a large number of ambulances were on their way to the scene of the accident.
Images posted on social media showed a building on fire.
Razvoyaev did not specify how many missiles were fired at the Black Sea Fleet General Staff or how many were intercepted by Russian air defenses.
According to the Moacovo-appointed governor, rocket debris fell near the Lunacharsky Theater in Sevastopol.
Russian authorities said they feared another attack and urged the public to exercise caution.
“I ask you to remain calm and not publish any photos or videos” of the scene, Razvoyaev said.
“It is possible that another attack will take place. Do not come to the city center, stay inside the buildings. For those close to the fleet headquarters, in case of sirens, go to shelters,” he added in a message other message.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet is based in the port of Sevastopol, one of the command centers for Russian operations against Ukraine.
On July 31, 2022, a drone injured six people when it hit the fleet headquarters, an imposing white, classical-style building located in the heart of Sevastopol, close to popular parks and museums.
Crimea and Sevastopol in particular have been regularly targeted by air and sea attacks by Ukrainian drones for several weeks, targeting ships and military infrastructure.
Crimea is essential for supplying Russian occupation forces in southern Ukraine and for Russian control of Ukraine’s coasts in the Black and Azov Seas.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and added the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia after invading the neighboring country on February 24, 2022.
Source: DN
