Ukraine says it ‘successfully’ hit Russia’s Black Sea navy HQ using British and French cruise missiles
The Ukrainian military says it has “successfully” struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in occupied Crimea in an attack using Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missiles.
Such weapons have been supplied by the UK and France to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
British Storm Shadow missiles were also used in an attack on 13 September against the HQ, where a Russian submarine and warship were damaged in a barrage on a shipyard in the port city of Sevastopol.
In the latest assault, the navy building caught fire after being hit by a missile, according to Moscow and its allies.
One serviceman was missing following the attack, said the Russian defence ministry which earlier stated he had been killed.
The city’s Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said the strike caused a fire and no one was injured outside the building but he did not talk about any other casualties.
Kremlin hits out at ‘aggressive’ Poland – Ukraine war latest
The building was ablaze after the attack
Firefighters battled the blaze and more emergency forces were being brought in – a sign of the large scale of the fire.
A stream of ambulances arrived at the building and shrapnel was scattered around an area of hundreds of metres, the Tass news agency reported, adding police asked residents to leave the city centre, where the naval HQ is located.
Mr Razvozhayev initially told Sevastopol residents that another attack was possible and urged them not to leave buildings or go into the centre.
He later said there was no longer any threat of an airstrike but reiterated that people should not go to the central part of the city.
Navy HQ attack part of well co-ordinated plan by Ukraine
Over the last few weeks the Ukrainians have been mounting a pretty intensive counter-attack, but there have also been drone attacks and missile attacks all over the place.
This is part of a well co-ordinated plan by Ukraine. One of the reasons they’re attacking the Russian Black Sea fleet is they’re trying to push it further east.
Why is that? It is because the fleet has been providing a lot of logistics support for the Russian forces in occupied Ukraine, so Kyiv is trying to stop the navy resupplying troops via Crimea and make life more difficult for them.
Ukraine does not have a navy to compete with Russia, but it has been conducting asymmetric attacks against Russian ships and submarines – at sea and in Sevastopol dock – and now the military HQ in Sevastopol.
Likewise on the Dnipro River, the Kakhovka Dam was blown up by the Russians in June because that protected their flank. All that water has now subsided and the Ukrainians keep mounting attacks across Dnipro. That is significant because it’s fixing Russian forces across that side of the country.
In Bakhmut, which is tactically an insignificant city, the Russians have put 70,000 to 80,000 forces there because it’s so symbolic, and therefore by attacking that area the Ukrainians are fixing Russian forces up there as well.
And by continuing attacks on Crimea, again the Russian forces that would otherwise be used to bolster the frontline have had to be kept there.
Finally up in Moscow, Ukrainian drone attacks there mean Vladimir Putin will be worried about his own defences as well.
So all of this is about forcing Russia to make priorities about where it positions its military forces.
Western military support is vital to enable such precision attacks against strategic targets – which are usually very well defended. High-tech, precision-strike weapons such as Storm Shadow enable Ukraine to strike high-value targets with a high degree of accuracy.
That is why Ukraine is so heavily dependent on Western support – in Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s own words, “give me the weapons or we lose the war”.
Reports suggest Ukrainian armour has broken through the comprehensive layered defences to the east of Zaporizhzhia. If this is verified, that could be the most significant progress since the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive nearly four months ago.
The defence ministry said five missiles were shot down by its air defence systems responding to the Sevastopol attack.
It was not immediately clear if the HQ was hit in a direct strike or by debris from an intercepted missile.
The missile attack comes a day after five people were killed when Russian missiles and artillery pounded cities across Ukraine.
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‘Unprecedented’ cyberattack in Crimea
US to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles
Meanwhile, President Biden has told his Ukrainian counterpart President Zelenskyy that the US will provide a small number of long-range missiles, Sky News understands.
Ukraine has for months asked for the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) which would give Kyiv the ability to strike targets from up to 180 miles away, hitting supply lines, railways and command and control locations behind the Russian frontlines.
It is not known when the missiles will be delivered.
Mr Zelenskyy met Mr Biden and congressional leaders in Washington on Thursday.
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‘We in Ukraine will not give up’
Mr Biden has been pressing Congress to approve an extra aid package for Ukraine worth $24bn (£19.5bn) amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Crimea has also been struck by an “unprecedented” cyberattack in the wake of the missile strike, according to an official.
“An unprecedented cyberattack on Crimean internet providers,” noted Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russian governor of the region, on Telegram.
“We are detecting interruptions in the internet on the peninsula,” he added. “All services are working to eliminate the threat.”
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The outage has not been verified and it was not clear what could have caused it.
The Crimean Peninsula was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014 in an act that most of the world saw as illegal.
World
Palestinians flock to Gaza aid centres despite concerns – as lawyers call for sanctions on Israel
Thousands of Palestinians have flocked to aid distribution sites in Gaza with desperation for food overcoming concerns over Israeli-enforced checks at the centres.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US, said on Tuesday it had distributed around 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals – just a fraction of what is needed, aid agencies say.
The centres have opened as hundreds of legal professionals in the UK, including lawyers and former judges, accused Israel of “genocide” and “war crimes”.
Palestinians carry food boxes delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah. Pic: AP
Crowds including women and children could be seen at one centre in Rafah, southern Gaza, where people received packages including rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar.
Witnesses in Rafah said Israeli gunfire was heard after desperate people broke fences to reach supplies.
The Israeli military said its forces did not direct aerial gunfire towards the centre, but rather fired warning shots in an area outside the hub.
In a statement, it said control over the situation had been established, with aid distribution to continue as planned.
Many Palestinians stayed away amid fears over Israel’s plan to use biometric screening procedures on those receiving vital food packages.
Israeli officials said one advantage of the new aid system is the chance to screen recipients to exclude anyone they say is connected with Hamas.
Thousands gather for aid. Pic: Reuters
A person kneels next to food supplies in Rafah. Pic: Reuters
Humanitarian groups briefed on the plans say anyone receiving aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology – which many Palestinians fear will end up in Israeli hands to track and possibly target them.
Father-of-seven Abu Ahmed said: “As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid.”
He continued: “I am so scared because they said the company [GHF] belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance [Hamas] said not to go.”
A child carries a bottle of oil. Pic: Reuters
UN boycotts aid foundation
Israel previously said its forces would not be involved in the distribution points but its endorsement of the plan, which resembles Israeli schemes floated previously, has led to many questioning the neutrality of GHF.
The United Nations and major international aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF – accusing it of undermining the principle that aid should be distributed based on need.
“Humanitarian assistance must not be politicised or militarised,” said Christian Cardon, chief spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
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Gaza babies are skin and bone
Ex-judges call for sanctions on Israel
Over 800 legal professionals – including former Supreme Court judges – have published an open letter calling for the UK to impose sanctions on Israel.
The letter says “genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide”. It continues: “War crimes, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law are being committed.”
Israel has consistently denied these accusations.
As a small flow of aid has arrived in Gaza after Israel’s months-long blockade, Israeli forces have kept up attacks on various targets in the territory.
Some 3,901 Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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Women and children dead following Gaza strike
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As the GHF centres opened on Monday, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 36 people in a school-turned-shelter that was hit as people slept, according to local health officials.
Israel said it targeted militants operating from the school.
A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.
Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.
Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.
The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.
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People line up for food in Gaza
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.
They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.
Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food
She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.
“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”
Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.
It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.
Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.
Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.
It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.
Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.
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Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.
A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.
The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.
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At least 31 dead after school attack
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.
Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.
More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.
Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.
“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.
John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.
“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.
“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.
“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”
More on this story:
The forgotten legacy of British children sent to Canada
John Jefkins
John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.
“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.
“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”
The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.
On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.
Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”
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