Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its military destroyed what it told Ukraine’s “last battleship” In a missile attack in the port of Odessa two days earlier.
Navy of Ukraine declined to comment.
“The last warship of the Ukrainian Navy, Yuri Olefirenko, was destroyed at a warship pier in the port of Odessa,” Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a daily briefing on the war.
He said the vessel had been attacked on May 29 with “high-precision weapons” – a phrase he uses for missiles – but gave no further details.
Ukraine responds to Russia’s claims it destroyed Ukrainian warships
Oleh Chalyk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, said it would not respond to any claims made by Russia. He added that the Ukrainian Navy would not provide any information about losses during the war.
Ukrainian officials said on Monday that Russia had put five planes out of action in an attack on a military target in western Ukraine and opened fire on the Black Sea port of Odessa in heavy airstrikes early Monday.
Reuters was unable to independently verify battlefield accounts from both sides.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said on Wednesday that its military had pushed Ukrainian units out of positions around the settlements of Krasnohorivka and Yasinuvata in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which Moscow claims it has captured.
The ministry said “fierce fighting” was continuing around Avdiivka, a large town located between the two settlements, which has been largely razed during months of fighting.