Putin’s forces hit by hammer blow as warship destroyed | World | News

Ukrainian forces have hit a Russian warship armed with Kalibr missiles in Kaliningrad region of Baltic Sea, according to reports.

The attack on the Serpukhov was carried out on April 7 and caused a large fire to break out on board.

The fire has seriously damaged communication systems and automation equipment, according to Ukraine‘s defence intelligence agency the GUR.

The GUR said it was still assessing whether there had been any casualties as a result of the strike, but confirmed that the warship was not in a “good shape”.

A spokesperson said: “It was a special operation by the GUR. The ship is not in a good condition right now. It just burned out.”

They added it would take a long time for the Russian navy to repair the damage to the ship.

The Serpukhov is a Buyan-M class corvette, which incorporates stealth technology and has a vertical launching system for either Kalibr or Oniks anti-ship cruise missiles.

Both these munitions have been used by the Kremlin to attack military and civilian targets throughout Ukraine.

The Serpukhov launched Kalibr missile strikes against Islamist militants in Syria from the Mediterranean Sea in 2016, before being deployed to the Baltic Sea area later that year.

This is the first time that Ukraine has hit Russian warships in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is becoming a key area of Russian-NATO competition in a new era of tension between the traditional rivals.

The Kaliningrad exclave is a key Russian outpost in the Baltic Sea, and hosts significant conventional military strength as well as electronic warfare equipment and possibly nuclear weapons.

Ukrainian drones also struck the Borisoglebsk aviation training centre in the Voronezh region overnight on April 9.

The base is home to the 160th Training Aviation Regiment which flies Sukhoi Su-25s and Yakovlev Yak-130s.

Two drones are reported to have slammed into the training centre, damaging the main production workshop.

Although Russian authorities claimed to have shot down the UAVs, local residents said the attack had been successful and captured images of it on video.

One person told the BAZA Telegram channel, which has links to Russian military intelligence: “The first drone hit the facade of the building on the fourth floor at around three o’clock in the morning.

“An hour later a second UAV struck the complex. There are no injuries. The facade and a window have been damaged.”

Video image show Russian forces attempting to shoot a drone down, before a huge explosion.

Ukrainian military told the media outlet RBC-UKraine that its forces were behind the attack.