Russian Black Sea Fleet radar system reportedly damaged in Ukrainian attack

Local reports on Monday said Ukrainian drones may have hit a Russian military facility in southern Crimea that houses radar reconnaissance equipment.

A Crimea-based Telegram channel that covers attacks on the Russian-controlled peninsula reported on Monday that residents had heard “explosions” at a Russian military facility at Cape Fiolent, which is said to house radar and satellite equipment.

Cape Fiolent lies south of Sevastopol, the Crimean city where Russia has partially based its Black Sea fleet since Moscow annexed the peninsula from Ukraine more than a decade ago. Kyiv has vowed to retake it and regularly launches drone and missile attacks on Russia’s sprawling military installations in Crimea.

The Kremlin-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, said on Monday morning that the port city had been the victim of a drone attack, adding that the Russian military had “already shot down a drone in the area of ​​Cape Fiolent.”

Razvozhaev warned residents to stay away from “falling shrapnel” in the area around Cape Fiolent and said at around 6:20 a.m. local time that the attack had been “repelled” without any casualties.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday that its air defenses had “thwarted” Ukrainian drone attacks on unspecified Russian facilities in several regions of Russia and over Crimea. Six Ukrainian drones were “destroyed” overnight over Crimea, Moscow said.

Ukrainian operations in Crimea often involve fighters from the Ukrainian military intelligence service GUR or the security service SBU, often alongside other branches of the Ukrainian armed forces.

The SBU traditionally does not make public statements about its operations and did not comment on the reports. The GUR said it could not comment at this time.

Far from slow but steady Russian troop gains along the eastern front lines on the Ukrainian mainland and the fighting hotspots along Ukraine’s northeastern border with Russia, Kyiv has repeatedly attacked high-value Russian assets in Crimea with long-range missiles and domestically manufactured explosive drones.

Ukraine uses Western weapons such as the British-supplied Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles and the US-donated Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to attack Russian aircraft, logistics centers and other critical equipment, such as the state-of-the-art air defense systems stationed in Crimea.

According to reports from Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies, the attacks on Sevastopol, where many ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet were stationed, have forced Moscow to move many of its ships further east into the Black Sea. The Ukrainian Navy has said that several Russian warships are currently stationed in the Sea of ​​Azov.

Update 07/15/2024, 06:15 AM ET: This article has been updated with additional information.