- Ukrainian officials said they attacked a Russian tugboat in the Black Sea on Friday with two Harpoon missiles.
- It is the first time Ukraine has announced that it has destroyed a Russian ship with weapons supplied by the West.
- A statement by the Ukrainian military says the harpoons used were given to Ukraine by the US.
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Ukrainian military said they attacked the Russian Navy tugboat Vasiliy Bekh in the Black Sea with two US-supplied Harpoon missiles.
The action marks the first time Ukraine has announced that it has destroyed a Russian ship with weapons supplied by the West.
The attack was announced on Friday on the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Strategic Communications Directorate. She released a video allegedly showing the anti-ship missile blowing up the ship. Insider has not been able to independently verify the footage.
The head of the Odessa regional military administration Maxim Marchenko said: “This morning our naval forces attacked the Black Sea Fleet support ship Vasily Bekh with the TOR anti-aircraft missile system on board. It was later revealed that he had sunk. ”
The Vasily Bekh also transported ammunition, weapons and personnel to Snake Island for the Black Sea Fleet, the Ukrainian military claimed.
Later news said the Harpoon anti-ship missiles, manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, were being shipped to Ukraine as part of a multi-billion dollar aid package championed by President Joe Biden.
The Russian missile cruiser Moskva docks in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Ukraine, May 10, 2013. She was sunk by Ukraine in April 2022. Reuters/Stringer/File photo
On June 15, the US Department of Defense announced it would also supply truck-mounted harpoons to bolster Ukraine’s coastal defenses.
In addition to US missiles, Ukraine has developed its own naval weapons and used them to devastating effect. In April, Ukrainian forces sank the Russian warship Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, with at least one of its homemade Neptun missiles.
The Ukrainian military claims to have destroyed 1,376 Russian tanks, 3,376 armored fighting vehicles and 14 ships or vessels since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, the government’s official Telegram channel said.