Ukraine Destroyed 20% of Russian Black Sea Fleet in 4 Months, British Defense Secretary Says

Ukraine's destruction of the large Russian fleet ship Novocherkassk on Dec. 26 in the temporarily occupied Crimea, as British Defense Secretary Grant Shepps stated, “shows that those who believe there's a stalemate in the Ukraine war are wrong!” 

He also noted that Ukraine has destroyed 20 percent of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in four months.

“Russia's dominance in the Black Sea is now challenged, and the new UK & Norway-led Maritime Capability Coalition is helping to ensure Ukraine will win at sea,”  Shepps wrote on social media.

Ukraine's air force said Tuesday, Dec. 26, it had destroyed a Russian fleet ship off the Crimean peninsula suspected of carrying drones for use in Moscow's war against Kyiv.

“Around 2:30 am (0030 GMT) on Dec.26, tactical aviation of the Air Force attacked with cruise missiles the Novocherkassk large landing ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in the area of Feodosia,”  it said in a post on messaging platform Telegram.

Ukraine has a history of conducting operations in Crimea, with a particular focus on targeting Russian military assets.

In March 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an airstrike on the occupied port of Berdyansk.

During that operation, they claimed to have destroyed a large Russian Black Sea Fleet ship called Saratov and also caused damage to two other landing ships, Caesar Kunikov and Novocherkassk.

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