Ukraine Strikes Russia's Black Sea Fleet HQ: What’s Known So Far?

Earlier on Friday, Mikhail Razvozhaev said that the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol came under a missile attack.

Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev announced that the missile and aviation threat in Sevastopol was over, but asked citizens to refrain from traveling to the city center.

The roads are blocked there and “a number of specific measures are in progress," he stated.

He added that efforts to extinguish the fire at the Black Sea Fleet headquarters are continuing and that “the manpower and resources there are sufficient.”

“Please remain calm. The situation is under the control of the emergency services. According to preliminary information, civilian infrastructure near the fleet headquarters has not been damaged. The people who were on the street at the moment of the missile strike have not been injured either,” Razvozhaev assured.

He also said that Acting Deputy Governor Yevgeny Gorlov, Acting Director of the Public Security Department Alexey Krasnokutsky and Chief of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for Sevastopol, Major General Alexei Rokhlin are performing their duties on site at the operational headquarters.

Additionally, Razvozhaev cited the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) as saying that during the missile attack on Sevastopol, the Black Sea Fleet headquarters' historic building had been damaged, and one Russian serviceman was reported missing. According to the MoD, the Russian air defenses downed at least five missiles during the attack.

Crimea’s head Sergey Aksenov, in turn, said that the air defenses had shot down cruise missiles over the peninsula, urging locals to keep calm and trust only official sources of information. According to Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser to the head of Crimea, one of the missiles was downed in the Bakhchysarai area, where the grass caught fire as a result of falling debris.

This came after he said that a missile had hit the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters in Sevastopol, and that information about the victims is being clarified.

"The enemy launched a missile attack on the fleet's headquarters. A fragment fell near the Lunacharsky Theater... All operational services went to the scene of the incident. Information about the victims is being clarified. Please remain calm. And do not post photos and videos," Razvozhaev said on Telegram. He warned of a possible new attack on the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters.

The Russian air defense systems were reported to be in operation on the Crimean Peninsula, with the movement of vehicles on the Crimean Bridge temporarily having been suspended. Smoke was visible in the center of the city, and an air-raid siren was sounded shortly after the missile strike, according to a Sputnik correspondent.

The developments come after the Russian MoD said that at about 10:30 local time that the air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian guided missile and two aircraft-type drones off the west coast of Crimea. Two drones were also shot down overnight on September 22, according to the Defense Ministry.

Ukraine has been launching drones into Russian territory almost daily since it set off its counteroffensive in early June. About three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Ukrainian counteroffensive had failed, with the Kiev regime suffering over 71,000 casualties and losing more than 500 tanks.