A Russian-controlled port in southern Ukraine, the capture of which was heralded as a “milestone event” in the war by Vladimir Putin’s military, is now burning, and a tank-landing ship docked at the port has been sunk, according to the Ukrainian navy.
Videos on social media purportedly showed the port of Berdyansk in flames on Thursday morning. The Ukrainian navy says the Orsk Russian tank-landing ship was destroyed at the port, and media reports indicate that two other ships are “smoking heavily and trying to escape.” A warehouse with ammunition and fuel was reportedly destroyed at the port as well.
“In Berdyansk, a large landing ship of the Russian army ‘Orsk’ was destroyed,” the Ukrainian navy said Thursday.
More footage of the #Russian war ships in #Berdyansk. pic.twitter.com/vT8rfhrnMr
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 24, 2022
The Ukrainian armed forces shared a video of an explosion at the port and a massive inferno with the caption, “Berdyansk !!! The [Russian] occupiers are burning well!”
Бердянськ!!!
У ??окупантів добряче палає!??? pic.twitter.com/ElfkXMRwOQ— ??Armed Forces (@ArmedForcesUkr) March 24, 2022
In addition to the destruction of the Orsk, a Ukrainian military officer claims the “large landing ship” the Saratov was damaged by fire and the Kunikov and Novocherkassk were able to escape. The officer claims three people were killed in the assault and 11 were wounded.
The port of Berdyansk, located on the Sea of Azov coastline, is approximately 50 miles west of the besieged city of Mariupol, which has suffered from heavy shelling by land, air, and sea.
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On Wednesday, the Kremlin-funded media outlet RT shared a video on social media showing Russian combat operations at the port.
The RT report showed the Orsk docked at Berdyansk, bringing heavy equipment and other supplies to front lines.
The Orsk is classified as an alligator-class landing ship by NATO. It can carry up to 20 tanks, 40 armored personnel vehicles, and hundreds of troops, according to the RT report.
A Russian military official interviewed by RT heralded the capture of the now-burning port.
“Our arrival here is a milestone event. It opens up completely new opportunities for the Black Sea Fleet to use existing Ukrainian infrastructure for our logistics operations,” the unnamed military official said.
RT’s report claimed humanitarian aid was also being transported in via the port, a claim that cannot be independently verified.
Russian military receives reinforcements at captured port pic.twitter.com/RumhzORcfQ
— RT (@RT_com) March 23, 2022
Earlier this week, five ships loaded with “tens of thousands of tons” of grain vanished from the same port. Reports indicate that the vessels and their haul were stolen by Russian tugboats.
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“According to the residents of Berdyansk, there were 5 ships being loaded there. Some of them were fully loaded — we can see from the customs documents — some were partially loaded. A few days ago, these ships disappeared from the port of Berdyansk. People say they were driven away. Russian tugs,” Oleksandr Starukh, governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said on Monday.
“There are tens of thousands of tons of grain loaded” on the ships, Starukh noted.
