UKRAINE fired cruise missiles at a shipyard on the east coast of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, damaging a ship and causing debris to fall on a dock, Russia said today.

Since launching its counteroffensive against Moscow this summer, Kyiv has ramped up attacks in a bid to suppress Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet.

“Yesterday, the Ukrainian army launched 15 cruise missiles at the B.E. Butoma shipyard in the city of Kerch,” Russia’s Defence Ministry said, according to state media.

“Air defence systems shot down 13 of the cruise missiles,” the ministry said.

“As a result, a ship located at the plant was damaged.”

It did not say how badly the ship was damaged or name which ship was attacked.

Debris from the downed missiles also fell on a nearby dock, but no-one was injured, Crimea’s governor Sergei Aksyonov said, without providing details.

The nearby Crimean bridge to the Russian mainland, which has been targeted by Ukraine before, was briefly shut yesterday for undisclosed reasons.

Ukraine had announced the attack yesterday and confirmed details today.

“Yesterday evening, the army carried out successful strikes on the maritime and port infrastructure of the Zaliv shipyard in the temporarily occupied Kerch,” it said.

Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleschuk said a Kalibr cruise missile carrier was stationed at the shipyard, and thanked pilots for what he called the “successful” strikes.

Ukrainian and Russian attacks have intensified since Moscow’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal, which aimed to ensure safe passage to civilian ships.

In September, Ukraine launched a missile attack that struck the headquarters of Moscow’s Black Sea fleet in the port city of Sevastopol. – AFP, November 5, 2023.