British-made Storm Shadow missiles used in strike on Russian Navy HQ ‘wounded some of Putin’s commanders amid claims admiral of Black Sea Fleet was killed in devastating long-range Ukrainian attack on Crimea

• At least nine people killed and 16 wounded in the Friday attack in Sevastopol

This is the moment a British-made Storm Shadow missile hits Putin’s Black Sea Fleet HQ in Ukraine.

Senior Russian commanders were killed in the Ukrainian missile strike, it was also revealed.

At least nine people were killed and 16 wounded in the Friday attack in Sevastopol, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.

Russia has refrained from giving details on the killed and wounded, and its main news bulletins failed to mention the humiliating strike in annexed Crimea.

Russian air defences were again today at work in and around Sevastopol, the main naval port in the peninsula.

Plumes of smoke were seen coming from the Russian headquarters after the Ukrainian attack

This is the moment a British Storm Shadow missile hits Putin’s Black Sea Fleet HQ in Ukraine

The explosion is understood to have been caused by a Storm Shadow missile

Video footage shows the building being destroyed

Smoke was seen pouring out of the building in Sevastopol

Russia has refrained from giving details on the killed and wounded, and its main news bulletins failed to mention the humiliating strike in annexed Crimea

There were reports of incoming missiles and that one missile had been shot down.

Russian war cheerleaders are demanding reprisal attacks on Ukrainian command posts.

Rybar Telegram channel warned: ‘As long as there are no strikes on control and command centres, the intensity of the AFU attacks will increase.

‘Meanwhile, in Kyiv, the work of all Ukrainian structures responsible for regular raids, such as the GUR and the SBU [intelligence services] , is proceeding without interruption.’

Spymaster Budanov told Voice of America: ‘Among the wounded is the commander of the group, Colonel-General (Alexander) Romanchuk, in a very serious condition’ 

Tsekov is the commander of the 200th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, part of the Coastal Forces of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. He was reported as being one of the wounded 

Some reports say Black Sea Fleet commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov was also hit and killed, but there has been no confirmation 

War analyst Sergei Mardan, a columnist for Komsomolskaya Pravda, said: ‘The strike to the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol is a crushing blow to the entire Russian elite, which is seriously committed to freezing the conflict in the autumn of 2023.

‘They still don’t want to fight.

‘They agree to any, the most shameful conditions of a truce. 

‘They still consider [the start of war on] February 24, 2022, a catastrophic mistake by Putin and intend to do everything to convince him of this.

‘They see a ”limited” military defeat of Russia as the ideal way.’

He claimed this was the wrong route for Russia.

At least six people are believed to be wounded following the attack

A top Russian official has admitted that the fleet’s HQ suffered a missile attack

Parts of the building were seen on fire shortly after the attack

The top of the Black Fleet headquarters’ building was damaged heavily during the attack

‘Our enemies will force us to fight, if only because they do not agree to a ‘limited’ defeat.

‘They intend to defeat the Russian army and bring the Russian government to its knees.’

Spymaster Budanov told Voice of America: ‘Among the wounded is the commander of the group, Colonel-General (Alexander) Romanchuk, in a very serious condition.’

He added: ‘The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General (Oleg) Tsekov, is unconscious.

‘The number of injured regular servicemen who are not employees of the headquarters is still being determined.

The strike was one of the most significant of the entire war, as was the sinking of the Black Sea fleet’s flagship, the Moskva cruiser, last year

‘These are military personnel who are on duty, security, and so on — they are not included in the list that I announced.’

Some reports say Black Sea Fleet commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov was also hit and killed, but there has been no confirmation.

There were suggestions he was ‘missing’.

Putin did not mention the destruction of the Sevastopol HQ in a meeting with his military chiefs 

Solkolov was handpicked by Putin a year ago to take over from Admiral Igor Osipov after the humiliating sinking of the fleet’s flagship, the cruiser Moskva, sunk by a Ukrainian Neptune missile.

Romanchuk is commander of Russian forces in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, and was promoted to the rank of colonel-general in 2023.

Tsekov is the commander of the 200th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, part of the Coastal Forces of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy.

Budanov declined to confirm Russian claims that Storm Shadow missiles – provided to Kyiv by Britain and France – had been used to the fleet HQ.

‘Here I have to refrain from answering, I think you should understand me,’ he said.

Source: Read Full Article