Russia on Wednesday claimed it had destroyed the last major warship of the Ukrainian naval forces, which it said was stationed in the southern port of Odesa.
“On May 29, a high-precision strike by the Russian Air Force on a ship anchorage site in the port of Odesa destroyed the last warship of the Ukrainian Navy, the ‘Yuri Olefirenko,'” the Russian army said in its daily briefing.
AFP was not able to independently confirm the claim.
A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Naval Force declined to comment.
The flagship of the Ukrainian navy Hetman Sahaidachny has been reportedly scuttled in Mykolaiv, Satellite Imagery from Feb 28 shows the ship close to the pier at the time. pic.twitter.com/xr6ODLaKrX
— Om Gothi | Orion Intel (@Orion__int) March 4, 2022
The Yuri Olefirenko is a medium-size landing ship for troops and vehicles.
First named “Kirovograd,” the ship was renamed in 2016 in honor of a Ukrainian marine killed near Mariupol in 2015.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decorated its crew in June 2022.
