Although a Ukrainian counteroffensive has made few battlefield gains, Ukraine has been able to launch a series of attacks on Crimea, the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
Ukraine struck a large Russian landing warship in Crimea with cruise missiles in an overnight attack that killed at least one person and could hinder any Russian attempt to seize more Ukrainian territory along the Black Sea coast.
The Russian defense ministry, cited by the Interfax news agency, said Ukraine had used air-launched missiles to attack the Crimean port of Feodosia and that the Novocherkassk large landing ship had been damaged.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had briefed President Vladimir Putin in detail about the attack, the Kremlin said. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 in a move Kyiv and the West condemned as an illegal seizure.
Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said he thought it would be hard for the Novocherkassk — which can carry tanks and armored vehicles and be used to land troops ashore — to re-enter service.
The bulk of their recruitment is voluntary.
Neither are forced. Russian civil unrest will only grow if enough of their soldiers don’t make it home. It will take a lot of Ukranian doing in order to combat years of propaganda. But now the government will be forced to spend 30pct of their budget on the military it will be harder and harder to maintain “special military operations” is going to plan.