Russian warships were attacked, this time in the fleet’s heart
Early this morning on April 24, two unmanned surface aerial vehicles attempted to strike warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The attack was carried out in the heart of the fleet – the naval base in Sevastopol. Faytuks News reported the attack through its Twitter account, as well as dozens of Telegram channels. The news was officially confirmed by Mr. Mikhail Razvozhayev, Governor of Sevastopol.
Mr. Razvozhayev said there were two drones. The first was intercepted and shot down by the Russian armed forces. The second exploded on its own before being intercepted and shot down. According to the governor, there was no damage or casualties. However, all military services remain on full alert.
What do we know?
The attack began at 3:30 am. It was not specified what model the drones were. A video purported to be of the morning attack is being shared on social media. The video shows something exploding in the distance.
A photo from another camera shows smoke rising from the ground into the sky. This means that there is most likely a fire at this location. Whether the smoke was caused by the exploding drone or fire for other reasons in the coastal area – we cannot confirm. But if it was a fire as a result of the drone exploding, that claim contradicts Mr. Razvozhayev’s claim that there was no damage.
There is a second video on Telegram. It was shot from the roof of a building. It shows the activation of the city’s anti-aircraft missile artillery. Tracer munitions, clearly visible at night, are seen flying in the same direction.
A little later that morning, the city’s governor announced that “the city is currently quiet.” I.e. no more attacks recorded. The Russian Telegram accounts did not give any more information about the attack than the one described above by us.
Why Sevastopol?
Sevastopol is a seaside city on the coast of the Black Sea. It is not only the largest port of Crimea but also the largest city on the peninsula.
Sevastopol is the main naval base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. All Russian ships operating in the Black Sea and traveling to the Mediterranean come from the docks of Sevastopol. In addition to the Mediterranean, the Russian Black Sea Fleet conducts military operations in the waters of the Sea of Azov.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet includes in its structure the 30th Surface Ship Division made up of missile frigates, the 4th Independent Submarine Brigade made up of submarines, the 197th Assault Ship Brigade made up of landing ships, the 388th Marine Reconnaissance Point/1229th Naval Intelligence Center made up of high-speed landing crafts, 68th Coastal Defense Ship Brigade, 150th Minesweeper Task Force, 102nd Anti-Saboteur Squadron, 41st Missile Boat Brigade, 184th Novorossiysk Coastal Defense Brigade, 519th Separate Squadron made up of reconnaissance ships and 176th Expeditionary Oceanographic Ship Division.
The structure of the Black Sea Fleet as a whole also includes coastal naval defense, air forces attached to the Black Sea Fleet, as well as ships designed for mapping the seabed.
The ship Moskva
The missile cruiser Moskva, which was sunk by the Ukrainian armed forces on April 13, 2022, was part of the Black Sea fleet and the flagship of the Russian navy. It was the flagship of the Russian naval force.
The Moskva was sunk by two R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles fired from the Ukrainian coast. It is said that in addition to cruise missiles, unmanned underwater vehicles [UAVs] were British.
BulgarianMilitary.com has a video that, according to official Kyiv, shows the specific two missiles that were fired from the P-360 Neptune and successfully hit the Russian missile cruiser Moskva.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 21 February 2022, Russia claimed that Ukrainian shelling had destroyed an FSB border facility. Russia claimed that it had killed 5 Ukrainian soldiers. They tried to cross into Russian territory. Ukraine denied being involved in both incidents and called them a false flag.
On the same day, the Russian government formally recognized the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR. According to Putin not only in their de-facto controlled areas, but the Ukrainian Oblasts as a whole. Putin ordered Russian troops, including tanks, to enter the regions.
On 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine by Russian Armed Forces previously concentrated along the border. The invasion followed by targeted airstrikes of military buildings in the country, as well as tanks entering via the Belarus border.
Russia has so far not recognized the invasion of Ukraine as a “war”, although that is exactly what it is, claiming that it is a “special military operation”. According to the UN, a “special military operation” can only take place after a UN resolution. There is no such resolution. So this is an invasion and war against Ukraine.
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