Ukraine says it hit Russian landing ships in Crimea

Ukraine says it has hit two landing ships, a communications centre and other infrastructure used by Russia’s Black Sea fleet off annexed Crimea. Russia also launched a missile and drone attack on the capital, Kyiv, and the region of Lviv early on Sunday. Officials said their defences had shot down 18 Russian missiles and 25 drones there. The BBC has not been able to verify the Ukrainian claim to have damaged the Russian landing ships.

The Russian-appointed mayor of Sevastopol said an office building and a gas line had been destroyed in the attack and a woman had suffered a shrapnel injury. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine has repeatedly hit the Black Sea fleet - seen as the best of Russia’s navy. Satellite images last year showed many of the Crimea-based warships had left the peninsula for the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

On Friday, Russia fired dozens of missiles at Ukraine, hitting a dam and leaving a million Ukrainians without power. Kyiv has repeatedly said it plans to retake Crimea and all territories seized by Russia. The Kerch bridge is an important resupply route for Russian forces occupying parts of the country’s south. Ukraine is critically dependent on weapons supplies from the US and other Western allies.