Injuries in Crimea as Ukraine targets Russian fleet on Navy Day
- Post By Ivan Kolekevski
- 08:00, 31 July, 2022
Moscow, 31 July 2022 (dpa/MIA) - Five people were injured when Ukrainian troops attacked the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, the Russian governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram on Sunday, as the area cancelled celebrations to mark Russia's Navy Day.
A drone hit a courtyard of the staff headquarters in the city of Sevastopol in the south of Crimea, a region controlled by Moscow since Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.
"Early this morning, Ukrainian nationalists decided to spoil our Navy Day," Razvozhayev said. Celebrations to mark the event are planned in many regions in Russia but have been cancelled for Sevastopol.
Razvozhayev said no one had died but that staff members of the Russian Black Sea Fleet had been injured. "I ask that you remain calm and, if possible, stay at home," he said.
The FSB domestic intelligence service is investigating the attack, he said.
His statement came as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to hold a parade of warships, aircraft and thousands of soldiers in St Petersburg on Sunday to mark Navy Day.
He is using the event as a show of force, amid uneven progress in the war in Ukraine, launched on February 24, initially with the aim of seizing the country's eastern Donbass region.
Parades honouring Russia's naval forces are planned in several regions of Russia, with 40 warships, including submarines, due to take part.
Russia is also planning to hold a naval parade in the Mediterranean, in the port of the Syrian city of Tartus, according to the Kremlin. Russia backs President Bashar al-Assad in the war in Syria.