Russian navy dealt devastating blow as Ukrainian missiles destroy key Black Sea minesweeper
The Ukrainian navy has said Kyiv forces have destroyed a Russian Black Sea fleet minesweeper in a blow for Vladimir Putin.
A spokesperson did not give any more details on how the Kovrovets, a Project 266-M sea minesweeper, was destroyed, although the Russian Ministry of Defence said that Ukraine had used US ATACMS missiles in the attack.
A spokesperson from the navy wrote on Telegram: “Last night the Ukrainian Defence Forces destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Project 266-M Kovrovets minesweeper.”
It comes as Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine launched a major 62-drone attack on Russian regions forcing one oil refinery in southern Russia to halt operations.
A Ukrainian intelligence source said Ukraine’s security service SBU and military drones struck the Slavyansk refinery and a military airfield in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region in overnight attacks.
Russia has reported a rise in Ukrainian attacks on its territory since its forces opened a new front in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region earlier this month.
President Putin says Russia is carving out a buffer zone there to protect Russia from such attacks, which Russia says risk triggering a broader war between Russia and the West if Ukraine uses Western weapons.
Putin said on Friday that Russia had no plans currently to take Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said: “We do not encourage nor do we enable attacks using US-supplied weapons systems inside Russian territory. That’s the policy…that has not changed.”
Meanwhile, over the weekend, Russia said its forces had captured the village of Starytsia in Kharkiv region and that they had defeated Ukrainian units along the front, including in the Sumy region.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and along with parts of four other regions its forces control, considers the territories – which amount to about 18 per cent of Ukraine – to be part of Russia now.
That stance has been rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies. President Volodimir Zelensky says he will not rest until all Russian troops are ejected from Ukraine.
It comes as Ukraine is gearing up for international talks in Switzerland next month that will exclude Russia and are aimed at trying to unify and harden opinion against Moscow.
Putin has said he believes the talks may convert Ukrainian demands for a Russian withdrawal into an ultimatum for Russia, a strategy he said would fail.
President Zelensky said it was crucial to get as many countries around the table as possible.
He told Reuters: “And then Russia will have to answer to the majority of the world, not Ukrain… No-one says that tomorrow Russia will agree, but it is important that we have the initiative.”