Ukraine attacks the Russian ship Novocherkassk in the Crimean port on the Black Sea

The Ukrainian Air Force said on its Telegram channel that it attacked the port of Feodosia at around 2:30 a.m. local time. The port is located in the east of the disputed Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014 and has occupied since then. a video A fire followed by a massive explosion that can be seen from miles away has been verified by social media intelligence firm Storyful as having been shot at the right time and place to coincide with the attack.

Ukraine launched a series of air attacks on Russian ships and ports in Crimea and the Black Sea throughout the war, trying to make it difficult for Russia to move troops and weapons around the region, and aiming to achieve high-profile victories by sinking the ship. Powerful and expensive ships.

In April 2022, Ukraine sank the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser Moskva, giving a major morale boost to the Ukrainian military after two months of war.

In September, Ukraine struck a shipyard and the Russian Navy's headquarters in Crimea in the city of Sevastopol, according to the Associated Press. In November in Ukraine Another ship damaged In the port of Kerch.

The 370-foot Novocherkassk ship, which Ukraine claimed to have sunk on Tuesday, is designed to land troops and vehicles during amphibious assaults. It can carry 10 tanks and 340 personnel. The ship's normal crew is 87 people. The Ukrainian army had previously claimed to have destroyed it in May during another attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it shot down two Ukrainian Su-24 planes that fired missiles at the port. A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman denied the claim in an interview with Radio Liberty, noting that Russian officials often say planes have been shot down when they have not.

Ukraine's largely Soviet-era air force has been under pressure throughout the conflict. NATO governments, including the Netherlands and Denmark, have said they will supply Ukraine with US-made F-16s, but pilots are still training to fly the planes.

Natalia Abakumova and Elise Samuels contributed to this report.