Russia says Ukraine’s ‘last warship’ destroyed at port

Russia on Wednesday, May 31st, claimed to have destroyed the last major warship of the Ukrainian naval forces, which was reportedly stationed in the southern port of Odesa.

“On May 29th, a high-precision strike by the Russian Air Force on a ship anchorage site in the port of Odesa destroyed the last warship of the Ukrainian Navy, the ‘Yuri Olefirenko’,” the Russian army said in its daily briefing.

AFP was not able to independently confirm the claim.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Naval Force declined to make any comment.

The Yuri Olefirenko is a medium-size landing ship for troops and vehicles.

First named “Kirovograd”, the ship was renamed in 2016 in honour of a Ukrainian marine killed near Mariupol in 2015.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decorated its crew in June 2022.