Ukraine sinks Russian landing ship in occupied port

Ukraine announced on Thursday that it had destroyed a Russian navy landing ship in an attack on the Russian-occupied port city of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov.

Although officials declined to explain how the attack was carried out, a video published by the Wall Street Journal shows the Orsk in flames as two damaged vessels can be seen escaping the smoke consumed port.

Russia said on Monday the landing ship had docked at Berdyansk, just 45 miles southwest of the besieged port of Mariupol. The ship was believed to be capable of carrying 45 armored personnel carriers and upwards of 400 people and Russian armed forces news outlet Zvezda said it played a key role in maintaining Russian supply lines.

Russian officials refused to comment when asked about the sinking of the craft, but Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar confirmed its destruction in a press briefing.

"Yes, it's destroyed," she said, signaling that Kyiv is now in a position to pursue a large-scale conventional war against the Russian invaders.

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 and have since seized most of the Ukrainian coast along the Sea of Azov – with the notable exception of Mariupol, which has put up a fierce defense.

"It doesn’t matter what kind of forces and means, these losses were inflicted on the enemy - we can definitely say that this operation was successful," Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesperson Oleksander Motuzyanyk told a televised briefing.

Kyiv has not yet revealed how the Russian ship was destroyed, but Ukrainian forces are known to have received full divisions of Neptune anti-ship missiles earlier this year. The new systems, equipped with six launchers with 72 missiles and supporting radars, have a range of about 200 miles and could be launched from behind the front lines.