Ukraine launches fresh strike on Russia’s Black Sea fleet headquarters | Ukraine

Ukraine has launched a fresh strike on Russia’s Black Sea fleet headquarters at Sevastopol, where officials in the annexed Crimean peninsula said that at least one drone had been shot down by air defences.

The reported attack on Saturday morning – a day after explosions erupted near military bases in Russian-held areas of Ukraine and Russia itself – came amid cautious optimism elsewhere as two more grain ships left a Ukrainian port.

The shipments, from Chornomorsk port, brought the total number to leave Ukraine’s Black Sea under a UN-brokered deal to 27.

While there was no apparent major damage following the reported unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on Sevastopol, which has not been independently verified by the Guardian, observers said it demonstrated Ukraine’s ability to strike deep behind Russian lines at prestige targets.

Video shared on Twitter appeared to show Russian air defences attempting to engage the UAV and dark plumes of smoke rising from the city.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, Sevastopol’s governor, wrote on Telegram that a drone hit the roof of the headquarters on Saturday and said there were no casualties, reports the Russian news agency Tass.

“I am at the [Black Sea] fleet’s headquarters now. A drone hit the roof here 25 minutes ago. Unfortunately, it was not downed … There are no casualties,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s defence ministry on Saturday said its forces had killed a total of 44,900 Russian personnel – a rise of 200 on the day before.