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In the same case, the court sentenced in absentia Konstantin Kobzar, the former deputy head of Ukraine’s state bodyguard department and head of the presidential security service, to 10 years of imprisonmentMOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. A Kiev court has sentenced former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in absentia to 15 years in prison on charges of incitement to defection and illegal border crossing, according to the Prosecutor-General’s office’s Telegram channel. In the same case, the court also sentenced in absentia Konstantin Kobzar, the former deputy head of Ukraine’s state bodyguard department and head of the presidential security service, to 10 years...

The Russian-occupied port of Sevastopol, Crimea has come under renewed attack by Ukraine's drone forces after a monthslong lull. Three loud and heavy explosions were reported in Kozacha Bay late Monday night, and citizen journalists said that a large fire was burning in the area. Both aerial and maritime drone attacks were reported. Sevastopol's Russian-backed governor, Mikhail Razvozhaev, told state media that two Ukrainian aerial drones had been shot down over the Black Sea. He did not confirm local reports of large blasts. Kozacha Bay is located five miles southwest of the main harbor, which is more heavily protected by...

A staunch ally of Vladimir Putin lamented the destruction of the Black Sea Fleet, dealing the Russian president a double blow as his Navy was forced to hold a muted annual parade on Sunday. In a rare admission of Russia's military failures, Yevgeny Fyodorov from the ruling United Russia party complained that Ukraine has disabled such a large proportion of Putin's prized Black Sea Fleet that it is essentially "gone." -snip- "The Russian fleet as an operational mechanism in the Black Sea does not exist! Not physically, but in terms of its actual combat presence. This is a fact," the...

Watch the moment a strike hits the Russian oil depot. THIS is the moment a Russian oil depot exploded in a huge fireball in yet another humiliating blow to Putin. Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising into the sky in Vyborg after the explosion at the oil refinery near the Nato border with Finland. Dramatic footage showed the oil depot engulfed in a raging inferno. Leningrad regional governor Alexander Drozdenko denied a Ukrainian kamikaze drone had hit the facility. He also denied there was a fire and claimed "there was a bang due to the use of pyrotechnics"....

Ukrainian drones attacked the only large oil refinery on Russia's Black Sea coast on Friday morning, authorities said. The attack on the Rosneft-owned refinery in the southern Russian town of Tuapse was reported by local authorities, who said a fire had broken out at the facility and that emergency services were working to extinguish the blaze. -snip- The Russian Black Sea naval port of Novorossiysk and Crimea's Sevastopol were also targeted a the massive aerial assault, which Russia's defense ministry said involved at least 100 drones.

A UKRAINIAN missile struck Putin's oldest naval vessel in a massive blow to Russia's forces in Crimea. Footage showed flames and smoke billowing out from the 112-year-old warship in the occupied port of Sevastopol this morning. Explosions hit the area as Russians were forced to issue a missile warning and close Putin's prized Crimea bridge. Fire engines reportedly rushed to the port to put out the blaze on the 315-ft long vessel. A caption under the dramatic video, shared by Astra on Telegram, said: "The rocket hit the ship. See, it's burning." The vessel hit by Ukraine is Kommuna, the...

Russian forces repelled an anti-ship missile attack on one of its vessels in the Crimean port of Sevastopol early on Sunday, the Russian-installed governor of the region said. The fallen fragments caused a small fire, which was promptly extinguished, Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

The Russian proxy leader in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhayev, claimed on the evening of March 23 that "10 missiles were shot down" over the city during an ongoing attack. The announcement came amid claims on Telegram channels about explosions and rising smoke in Sevastopol. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Ukrainian officials usually do not comment on alleged attacks in occupied Crimea. -snip- The Crimean Wind Telegram channel published multiple videos and photos capturing projectiles, explosions, and smoke rising above the city. According to Crimean Wind, explosions were heard also in the Balaklava district, and a...

Ukraine's successful suppression of the Russian Black Sea fleet has resulted in Kyiv's grain exports rising to their highest levels since the invasion by Moscow began. -snip- Russia's Black Sea fleet flagship Moskva was destroyed by Ukraine in the early days of the war. The losses have continued since then, with British Defence Secretary Grant Shapp saying last month that Russia had lost 20 percent of its Black Sea fleet over the course of four months. Significant recent losses include the December destruction of large Russian landing ship Novocherkassk and last week's revelation that Ukrainian drones sank a Tarantul-class corvette...

Ukraine fired 15 cruise missiles at a Russian shipyard in occupied Crimea, hitting a warship in an attack that could further undermine Moscow’s offensive capabilities.French-supplied SCALP missiles struck the Russian vessel stationed at the Zalyv dockyard in the port city of Kerch on Saturday, Lt Gen Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine’s air force said.The warship was armed with Kalibr cruise missiles that have frequently been used by Russia to strike targets inside Ukraine, he added.“I confirm,” Gen Oleshchuk said on Sunday morning after posting a message the evening before which said the Ukrainian attack had probably hit its target.Ukrainian...

Satellite images have shown how Vladimir Putin is running scared from Ukraine's assault on Crimea, revealing that the bulk of his Black Sea Fleet has performed a major retreat. Russian warships were evacuated from Sevastopol some 237 miles to Novorossiysk on Russia's southern coast, in what British Defence Minister James Heappey called 'the functional defeat of the Black Sea Fleet'. The exodus of around ten vessels came after Ukraine destroyed the Sevastopol headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in a missile strike on September 22.

It was a moment of humiliation for Moscow. The headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet – a building of elegant white columns overlooking the Crimean port of Sevastopol – was ablaze. Smoke billowed into a blue sky. First one, and then a second Storm Shadow missile slammed into its roof. Video captured the impact: a precise, deadly, thunderous strike. The attack on 22 September killed 34 officers, including Viktor Sokolov, the fleet’s commander, according to Ukraine. Russia denied this, releasing footage of Sokolov, suggesting he was still alive. Whatever the truth of the admiral’s fate, the blow deep into enemy...

ussia has withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in occupied Crimea, a potent acknowledgment of how Ukrainian missile and drone strikes are challenging Moscow’s hold on the peninsula. Russia has moved powerful vessels including three attack submarines and two frigates from Sevastopol to other ports in Russia and Crimea that offer better protection, according to Western officials and satellite images verified by naval experts. The Russian Defense Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. The move represents a remarkable setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose military seizure of Crimea in 2014 marked...

This is proof that Ukraine – with the help of the West – is mastering the art of 21st century warfare. The Sevastopol missile strike that killed Admiral Viktor Sokolov along with 34 of his officers on Saturday shows that modern military operations depend on combining accurate intelligence and rapid decision-making with advanced machinery. -snip- The result is a humiliating blow to Russian morale. While the Kremlin-controlled media has so far remained largely silent about the raid, rage-filled posts on social media complain of Moscow's inept handling of its 'special military operation'. Many point out that the losses of the...

After missing their anticipated salary payments, Russian officers decided to leak sensitive information about Moscow's Black Sea Fleet to a Ukrainian partisan movement. The intelligence later paved the way for a devastating missile strike on the fleet's headquarters in the occupied Crimean peninsula, Ukrainian media reported. Ukrainian resistance fighters told the Kyiv Post in a recent interview that they managed to gather information about high-ranking Russian commanders from officers who were frustrated by Moscow's failure to pay their salaries on time. The officers were financially compensated in exchange for the information, which was then passed along to state agencies and...

A volley of Ukrainian cruise missiles demolished the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, in Occupied Crimea. The strategic communications directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the attack that took place around noon Sevastopol time this way on social media: (snip) Fleet Headquarters was struck by two or three cruise missile, either British Storm Shadow or French SCALP-EG. In this video you can see one of them on short final. There are reports of several high-ranking officers killed or injured in the attack. Unofficially, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, was among the...

At least one Ukrainian missile struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea navy in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Friday, causing a fire, local governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Razvozhayev said another strike was possible and urged locals to avoid the city center where the building is located. Firefighters were at the site, he said.

Following successful Ukrainian attacks on a large landing ship and a submarine in occupied Sevastopol, the Russians have moved three large landing ships from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the national 24/7 newscast, said that "These processes concerning the liberation of our territory will continue in the future. By the way, it is telling that today the Russian invaders have for some reason moved three large landing ships from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov." Pletenchuk noted that the large landing...

Explosions and flames wreathed Sevastopol harbor early on Wednesday morning as Kyiv scored another success against Russia's beleaguered Black Sea Fleet, its cruise missiles and drones striking at the heart of Moscow's regional power center. Russia's Defense Ministry said ten cruise missiles and three naval drones attacked Sevastopol, with all three UAVs destroyed and seven missiles shot down. Photos and video from the scene showed Sevastopol's drydock area engulfed in flames, with the Minsk Ropucha-class large landing ship and Rostov-on-Don Kilo-class attack submarine believed to have been damaged. -snip- ighteen months of war have been punctuated with multiple humiliations for...

A Ukrainian attack set the home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet ablaze on Wednesday, damaging two warships and injuring dozens of people, Russian authorities said. The incident appeared to be the latest in a growing wave of strikes against the Kremlin's navy, but also came as Moscow hit a key Ukrainian port city in the Odesa region with a drone attack. Sevastopol is the largest city on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and the port serves as the main base of the Russian fleet, which has been used to launch attacks deep into Ukraine. The Russian defense ministry said Ukraine had...