WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine says it has sunk a Russian patrol ship near Crimea
Ukrainian sea drones hit and sank a Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship off occupied Crimea in an overnight attack, the Ukrainian military said on Tuesday.
Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said a special unit called Group 13 had fired Magura V5 maritime drones at the Sergey Kotov near the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.
It said on the Telegram messaging app that the vessel had sustained damage to the stern, starboard and port sides, at an estimated cost of $65 million.
"Right now this ship is on the seabed as a result of fire damage by unmanned boats," navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said in televised comments.
Andriy Yusov, a GUR spokesperson, said a helicopter had been on board the vessel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made no direct reference to the reported sinking of the vessel in his nightly video address.
But he said Ukraine had "proven what we are capable of, what our strength is capable of."
"That is shown by the number of downed Russian aircraft and the capabilities of our boys against the Russian fleet. There are no safe havens for Russian terrorists in the Black Sea and nor will there be."
And there would be, he said, "no safe space for them in the sky, given sufficient Ukrainian strength".
Reuters was unable to verify the reports. Russia's defence ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Some Russian military bloggers confirmed the account. The Telegram channel VChK-OGPU reported attempts to tow the ship to port but said it eventually sank.
Ukraine has in recent months stepped up attacks in the Black Sea and on Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014. Kyiv has reported a series of strikes, including the sinking of a large landing ship by naval drones in mid-February.
Pletenchuk said the Sergey Kotov had also been hit in September 2023 and that a similar patrol vessel had been damaged in attacks since Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
"They have four similar ships, two of them are no longer in service," he said.
Reuters was unable to confirm the earlier strikes.
Train and highway traffic was temporarily stopped and later resumed on a bridge spanning the Kerch Strait and linking the Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland, Moscow-installed officials in Crimea said.
Russia controls close to one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. Zelenskiy said in November Kyiv had seized the initiative in the Black Sea and forced back Russia's fleet.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Kiev loses 500 troops in Avdeyevka area over past day — Russia’s top brass
The Ukrainian military lost roughly 500 troops in battles with Russian forces in the Avdeyevka area near Donetsk over the past day, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday, reporting on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine.
Units of Russia’s Battlegroup Center continued seizing more advantageous sites and positions in the Avdeyevka area over the past day in their well-coordinated operations. They inflicted damage by firepower on the personnel and military hardware of the Ukrainian army’s 24th, 31st, 47th and 61st mechanized brigades near the communities of Netailovo, Novosyolovka Pervaya and Toretsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic, it specified.
"They also repulsed three attacks by Ukrainian army units near the settlements of Kirovo, Berdychi and Shumy and ten counterattacks near the communities of Tonenkoye, Pervomaiskoye and Orlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The enemy lost as many as 500 personnel, 4 armored combat vehicles, including a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and an M113 armored personnel carrier of US manufacture, 4 motor vehicles and a D-30 howitzer," the ministry reported.
Russian forces destroy 300 Ukrainian troops in Donetsk area over past day
Russian forces destroyed roughly 300 Ukrainian troops and four enemy armored vehicles in the Donetsk area over the past day, the ministry reported.
"The Ukrainian army lost as many as 300 personnel, 2 tanks, 2 armored personnel carriers and 3 motor vehicles. In counter-battery fire, the following targets were destroyed: an US-made M198 howitzer, two D-20 howitzers, an Msta-B howitzer, two Gvozdika motorized artillery systems, a D-30 howitzer and a Grad multiple rocket launcher," the ministry said.
Russian forces eliminate 230 Ukrainian troops in south Donetsk area over past day
Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the south Donetsk area, eliminating roughly 230 enemy troops and a UK-made air defense system over the past day, the ministry reported.
"In the south Donetsk direction, units of the Battlegroup East inflicted damage on manpower and equipment of the 102nd and 128th territorial defense brigades near the settlements of Vodyanoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Malinovka in the Zaporozhye Region. The Ukrainian army’s losses amounted to 230 personnel, 2 tanks, 2 armored combat vehicles, 6 motor vehicles, an Msta-B howitzer and a UK-made Stormer surface-to-air missile launcher," the ministry said.
Russian forces wipe out Ukrainian S-300, Buk anti-aircraft missile launchers in DPR
Russian forces destroyed S-300 and Buk anti-aircraft missile launchers of the Ukrainian army in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, the ministry reported.
"Russian forces destroyed a missile launcher of an S-300 surface-to-air missile system near the settlement of Mayaki in the DPR and a missile launcher of a Buk anti-aircraft missile system near the community of Vozdvizhenka in the DPR," the ministry said.
Over the past 24 hours, operational-tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces destroyed a Ukrainian UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) control post near the settlement of Novokalinovo in the DPR and struck enemy manpower and military hardware in 104 areas, it said.
Russian air defenses down Ukrainian MiG-29 warplane over past day
Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet and intercepted four rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system over the past day, the ministry reported.
"Air defense capabilities shot down a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 plane near the settlement of Lyubomirovka in the Nikolayev Region. During the last 24-hour period, they intercepted four HIMARS rockets," the ministry said.
Russian air defense systems also destroyed 112 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, in particular, near the settlements of Peschanoye, Nikolskoye, Staromikhailovka and Lastochkino in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Romanovskoye in the Zaporozhye Region, it specified.
In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 576 Ukrainian warplanes, 267 helicopters, 14,305 unmanned aerial vehicles, 479 surface-to-air missile systems, 15,360 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,233 multiple rocket launchers, 8,299 field artillery guns and mortars and 19,365 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation, the ministry reported.
Reuters/Tass