Ukrainian intelligence announces series of new operations in Crimea

Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Main DirectorateI of ntelligence, says that preparations are underway for a number of operations similar to the events in Kerch

He said this on Espreso TV. 

"Preparations are underway for a number of operations similar to the events in Kerch. The Russian Black Sea Fleet still has enough carriers of Kalibrs. The attack on the Askold ship is not the only good piece of news. There will be more news in the near future. We use different motivations for communicating with the enemy, including ideological and mercantile ones," Yusov emphasized.

The intelligence representative added that weakening Russia's influence in different parts of the world is in Ukraine's direct interest.

"We can state that Russian war criminals are punishable and must be punished wherever they are. Weakening Russia's influence in different parts of the world is in Ukraine's direct interest. The time will come when we will be able to talk in more detail about various episodes of the global confrontation with Russia," Yusov said.

What is known about the destruction of the Askold ship

The Askold was the latest ship of Russia's Karakurt project with stealth technology and eight silos for launching Kalibr cruise missiles. One of its features was the Pantsir-S1, a sea-based air defense system.

On November 4, explosions were heard in the temporarily occupied Crimea: the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed successful strikes on the Zaliv shipyard and damage to the Russian Askold missile carrier.

On the morning of November 5, the damage to one of the most modern ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Kalibr cruise missile carrier, during yesterday's Kerch attack was confirmed by the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk. On November 6, the agency confirmed the damage to the Russian missile carrier Askold and published a photo of the damaged ship.

Later, the Russian Defense Ministry recognized the missile attack on the Zaliv shipyard in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Radio Liberty showed satellite images showing damage to the ship.

The ship was heavily damaged and is likely beyond repair.