This graphic footage shows a Russian warship in the Black Sea launching a salvo of missiles towards targets in Ukraine.
Zenger News obtained the video from the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of the Russian Federation on Sunday, June 12.
The Russian MoD said (in English): “Black Sea Fleet frigate crew conducts a salvo launch of four Kalibr cruise missiles at Ukraine’s military infrastructure from the Black Sea.”
The Kalibr is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design Bureau, which is headquartered in Yekaterinburg. It entered service in 1994.
The Russian MoD did not specify what was hit in the strikes or where they took place.
In a briefing on June 13, the Russian MoD said (in English): “In total, 201 Ukrainian airplanes and 130 helicopters, 1,196 unmanned aerial vehicles, 338 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,525 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 515 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,933 field artillery and mortars, as well as 3,583 units of special military vehicles were destroyed during the operation.”
We contacted Russian and Ukrainian officials for comment but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation” to “liberate the Donbas.” The Donbas is the region incorporated by the breakaway, so-called Peoples’ Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose independence Russia recognized just before the invasion.
Russia’s incursion into Ukraine is in its 110th day as of June 13.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and June 13, Russia had lost 32,300 personnel, 1,432 tanks, 3,492 armored fighting vehicles, 718 artillery systems, 226 multiple launch rocket systems, 97 anti-aircraft systems, 213 warplanes, 178 helicopters, 2,460 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 warships/boats, 585 drones, 54 pieces of special equipment and 125 cruise missiles.
A huge fire is reportedly raging at a chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk as street-to-street fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces takes place in the city.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russian attacks on the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk has turned them into “dead cities”. But he added that Ukrainian forces could still hold Sievierodonetsk despite being outnumbered.
An aide to President Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine is losing up to 200 troops a day.
President Zelenskyy has asked for additional weapons from Ukraine’s allies to help push back the Russian forces.
The United Kingdom and the United States are sending long-range missile systems to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of more attacks in Ukraine if the West sends long-range weapons.
President Putin has said that the West will not be able to wean itself off from Russian oil and gas for years. U.S. officials have now also admitted that Russian profits on energy might even be higher than they were before the war started.
On June 8, the European Parliament adopted a resolution recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Some 438 members of the parliament voted in favor of the resolution, with 65 voting against and 94 abstaining.
