On the same day that a drone loaded with explosives hit the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russian troops will use new hypersonic Zircon missiles in the war in Ukraine.
The attack took place in Russian Navy Day and led to the cancellation of celebrations in Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, where the Black Sea Fleet. The fleet press service said the drone appeared to be homemade and described the explosives as “low power”. Sevastopol Mayor Mikhail Razvozhaev said six people were injured.
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At the naval parade in St. Petersburg, Putin explained that hypersonic missiles will be installed on Russian ships. According to him, the Russian fleet “will be able to inflict a devastating response on anyone who decides to attack our sovereignty and freedom.” “Supplies to the Russian armed forces will begin in the next few months,” Putin said.
Zircon cruise missiles can hit targets at a distance of a thousand kilometers and travel nine times faster than the speed of sound.
Just yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy issued a mandatory evacuation order for civilians still living in the eastern region Donetskdevastated by constant Russian attacks.
“There are hundreds of thousands of people, tens of thousands of children. Many refuse to go, but it must be done,” he said in his evening speech. Russian forces have captured large areas of Donetsk, but observers say they have scaled back their offensive in recent weeks.
One of Ukraine’s richest businessmen dies in a Russian attack
One of Ukraine’s wealthiest businessmen and his wife were killed in bombings in the southern city of Mikolajiv, Regional Governor Vitaly Kim said yesterday. Oleksi Vadaturski owned the agricultural company Nibulon, which specialized in the production and export of grains of wheat, barley and corn.
The company is the only agricultural company in Ukraine with its own fleet and shipyard. Vadaturski’s fortune was estimated at $430 million before the war. Zelenskyy said the businessman’s death was “a great loss for all of Ukraine”. l WP, AP and AFP