Ukraine Russia war today: Two of Putin’s warships hit in Crimea strikes, Kyiv says

The Ukrainian military said it hit two large Russian landing ships in attacks on the annexed Crimean peninsula early on Sunday, as well as a communications centre and other infrastructure used by the Russian navy in the Black Sea.

The statement did not say how it hit the targets, but a Moscow-installed official in the region reported a major Ukrainian air attack and said air defences had shot down more than 10 missiles over the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

“The defence forces of Ukraine successfully hit the Azov and Yamal large landing ships, a communications centre and also several infrastructure facilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in temporarily occupied Crimea,” Ukraine’s military said.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, said on the Telegram messaging app that a 65-year-old man was killed when three homes were hit by shrapnel.

He also said earlier on Sunday that transport infrastructure including passenger boats and buses were partially damaged, with windows broken on five boats. Three passenger buses, 13 school buses and one trolley bus were among vehicles damaged, he added.

Russia struck critical infrastructure in Ukraine‘s western region of Lviv with missiles early on Sunday, Kyiv said, in a major airstrike that saw one Russian cruise missile briefly fly into Polish airspace according to Warsaw.

Moscow launched 57 missiles and drones in the attack that also targeted the capital Kyiv, two days after the largest aerial bombardment of Ukraine‘s energy system in more than two years of full-scale war, Kyiv said.

“There were two preliminary hits on the same critical infrastructure facility that the occupiers targeted at night,” Lviv’s regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The strike used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which are harder to shoot down, he added, without identifying the facility.

The energy ministry said equipment caught fire when a critical energy facility in the Lviv region was attacked, causing it to lose power. It was unclear if they were talking about the same facility.

Air defences destroyed 18 of 29 inbound missiles and 25 of 28 attack drones, the air force said.

There were almost no details about what had been damaged, but the targeting of critical infrastructure could indicate Russia is trying to keep up pressure on the energy system after its strikes caused widespread blackouts on Friday.

The energy ministry said Ukraine, which has been exporting power in recent weeks, had sharply increased imports of electricity and stopped exports on Sunday after attacks on the energy system.

Several explosions rang out in Kyiv in the early hours as air defences destroyed about a dozen missiles over the capital and its vicinity, said Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration.

There was only minor damage from the attack, he said.

Ukraine sharply increased imports of electricity and halted exports on Sunday after a series of missile and drone attacks on the country’s energy system, the energy ministry said.

“For the current day, electricity imports are forecast at 14,900 megawatt hour (Mwh). No exports are expected,” the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine imported 3,300 Mwh a day before the attack on March 22, with exports of 2,148 Mwh.

Generating and transmission facilities were attacked by Russia on Friday, causing significant blackouts in many regions. Energy facilities in three Ukrainian regions were also attacked and on this Sunday morning.

The ministry said Russians had attempted to hit a critical energy infrastructure facility in the Lviv region.

“Equipment caught fire and the facility was de-energised. There were no casualties. The consequences are being assessed,” the ministry said.

It said that as a result power lines in the Kyiv region were damaged and 1,400 households in two settlements had lost power.

The airspace incident on Sunday morning comes two days after Poland’s government announced it had prepared new legislation to boost the nation’s capacity for self-defence.

Ministers of defence and of the interior said the bill was prompted by the war that neighboring Ukraine is fighting against Russia’s aggression. Russia has recently captured territory in the east, while Ukraine is running critically low on ammunition.

The legislation will be put before Parliament probably in May, after consultations with the public and with local authorities, ministers said.

“Because of the developments that we can see across our eastern border, we are talking here about extreme situations …, about an armed conflict,” said Marcin Kierwiński, minister of the interior and administration.

The plans include better public warning systems, more emergency shelters and more funding for first aid courses, officials said Friday.

Poland is one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters on the military and the humanitarian levels and has taken in almost 1.5 million refugees.

The Ukrainian military said it hit two large Russian landing ships in attacks on the annexed Crimean peninsula early on Sunday, as well as a communications centre and other infrastructure used by the Russian navy in the Black Sea.

The statement did not say how it hit the targets, but a Moscow-installed official in the region reported a major Ukrainian air attack and said air defences had shot down more than 10 missiles over the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

“The defence forces of Ukraine successfully hit the Azov and Yamal large landing ships, a communications centre and also several infrastructure facilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in temporarily occupied Crimea,” Ukraine’s military said.

These pictures show police officers inspecting a part of a Russian Kh-55 cruise missile in a park in Kyiv.

The weapon was intercepted during a missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Sunday morning.

New pictures show one of the missile attacks carried out by Russia in the early hours of Sunday morning.

An explosion of was missile is seen in the sky over Kyiv, one of 57 missiles and drone strikes on Ukraine so far today.

Polish and allied aircraft were activated early on Sunday after Russia launched the air attack on Ukraine’s west and near the Polish border, the Operational Command of the Polish armed forces said on Sunday.

“Polish and allied aircraft have been activated, which may result in increased noise levels, especially in the south-eastern part of the country,” the Command said on the social media service X.

The southeastern part of Poland borders Ukraine.

Russia has launched its third massive missile attack on Ukraine in the past four days, with Poland‘s military saying one of the missiles briefly entered its airspace on Sunday.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said Russia used cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers.

An air alert in the capital lasted for more than two hours as rockets entered Kyiv in groups from the north.

Mr Popko said the attacks were launched from the Engels district in the Saratov region of Russia.

According to preliminary data, there were no casualties or damage in the capital, he added.

The operation command of Nato member Poland said in a statement there was a violation of its airspace at 3.23am GMT by one of the cruise missiles launched by Russia.

The object entered near the Polish town of Oserdow and stayed there for 39 seconds, the statement said.

It added that military radar systems observed the missile the entire time and all necessary procedures were launched to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.