Ukraine announced on Monday that a missile strike targeting the headquarters of Russia’s navy in Crimea last week resulted in 34 casualties, including the fleet commander. However, no evidence was provided to substantiate this claim. According to Ukraine’s Special Operation Forces, the attack on the main building of the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol wounded 105 individuals. These claims remain unverified and diverge significantly from Russia’s official reports.
Initially, Russia’s military stated that one serviceman had been killed in the attack but later revised this to indicate that the person was missing, offering no further updates. Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been a frequent target since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 20 months ago. It serves as a crucial hub supporting the ongoing invasion.
Recent weeks have seen Ukraine increasingly focusing on naval facilities in Crimea, as its summer counteroffensive advances slowly in eastern and southern Ukraine, as reported by the Institute for the Study of War. Following Friday’s attack, Ukraine launched another barrage on Saturday.
The new casualty figures mark a significant increase from the information provided by Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, who had previously stated that at least nine people were killed and 16 others wounded in the attack, which left the building smoldering. Budanov also mentioned that Russian General Alexander Romanchuk, commanding forces along the key southeastern front line, was in a critical condition.
Although the statement by the Special Operation Forces did not name Adm. Viktor Sokolov, the fleet’s chief, it was reported on social media by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, that Sokolov had also been killed. However, no corroborating evidence was provided.
Ukraine’s military offered further details regarding Friday’s attack, revealing that the air force had conducted 12 strikes on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, targeting areas with a concentration of personnel, military equipment, and weapons. They claimed to have hit two anti-aircraft missile systems and four Russian artillery units.
In addition to these developments, Russian drone and missile strikes near Odesa damaged infrastructure, including a grain silo and an abandoned hotel, injuring one person in the Black Sea port city. Over the past day, Russian attacks in other parts of Ukraine resulted in the deaths of six civilians and injuries to 13 others, according to Ukrainian officials.
While Ukraine’s air force reported successfully downing all Russian drones launched overnight, it appears that one out of 12 Kalibr missiles and two P-800 Oniks cruise missiles managed to penetrate the air defenses. Russia has repeatedly targeted port and grain storage facilities in Odesa since exiting an agreement related to wartime conditions that had allowed Ukrainian grain exports to countries facing food shortages. These attacks have caused damage to silos, warehouses, oil terminals, and other vital storage and shipping infrastructure.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that long-range missiles and drones were used to strike facilities housing alleged foreign mercenaries and trained saboteurs, without specifying locations or providing supporting details. The ministry also reported downing several Ukrainian drones.
These events unfolded as independent U.N.-backed human rights experts uncovered new evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the arrival of the first Abrams tanks sent by the U.S., potentially contributing to their ongoing, slow-moving summer counteroffensive.
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The U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine revealed evidence of crimes by both sides in the conflict, with a higher proportion attributed to Russian forces. These crimes included instances of torture, some fatal, and the rape of women as old as 83. The commission also mentioned an ongoing investigation into allegations of genocide by Russian forces. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to allies on Telegram for their support, announcing the anticipated arrival of the tanks. While he did not specify the exact number of tanks received, the U.S. had previously stated it would send 31 tanks.
Elsewhere in the conflict, Russian forces conducted bombings and heavy artillery strikes in Ukraine’s Kherson region in the south, resulting in the destruction of a school and factory and damage to residential buildings. Three of the reported deaths occurred in the city of Beryslav, where three individuals were killed, and two were injured by bomb blasts. Another fatality occurred in the neighboring village of Lvove. In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces attacked residential areas in ten cities and villages in the Donetsk region, resulting in two deaths in the village of Zarichne, according to the Ukrainian president’s office.
In the Zaporizhzhia region of southeast Ukraine, Russian forces carried out five airstrikes on Orikhiv, a small city, and its surrounding area. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its air defenses downed three Ukrainian drones over Russia’s Kursk region and another three over the Bryansk region early Monday. It also claimed that three drones were shot down over the Belgorod region.
Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit noted that a downed drone in the center of Kursk had damaged the roof of an administrative building, several private houses, and shattered windows in an apartment building, but there were no injuries. The previous day, a Ukrainian drone had damaged the roof of an administrative building in Kursk, reportedly housing the offices of Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main domestic security agency, as reported by some Ukrainian and Russian media outlets.
Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz clarified that the drones caused no casualties, but Ukrainian rockets damaged a farm building and killed cattle. During the drone attack, Russian authorities had to delay or divert several flights at Moscow’s airports.The Defense Ministry further indicated that five other Ukrainian drones were shot down over Crimea and the Black Sea.
