Britain has welcomed claims that Ukraine has destroyed a Russian naval ship in an air strike on a Black Sea port as a sign the war has not reached a “stalemate”.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps seized on Tuesday’s early morning attack on the warship in Feodosiya in Russian-occupied Crimea as evidence that Ukraine’s critics are “wrong”.
Russia’s defence ministry conceded that the Novocherkassk landing ship had been damaged by plane-launched guided missiles.
Ukrainian authorities claimed the ship was probably carrying weapons including drones and was destroyed by the strike.
The blow to Vladimir Putin’s fleet comes at a crucial time for Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as he strives to shore up military aid from Western allies amid some unease at the spending.
In a statement, Mr Shapps said: “This latest destruction of Putin’s navy demonstrates that those who believe there’s a stalemate in the Ukraine war are wrong!
“They haven’t noticed that over the past 4 months 20% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been destroyed.
“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.”
