Putin dealt major blow as Russian-occupied port hit by 'British Storm Shadow missiles'

Port area of occupied Berdyansk

Ukraine has fired a suspected British-supplied Storm Shadow missile at a Russian-occupied port

Reuters
Georgina Cutler

By Georgina Cutler


Published: 02/06/2023

- 19:53

A huge explosion erupted causing 'casualties and destruction'

Ukraine has fired a suspected British-supplied Storm Shadow missile at a Russian-occupied port in the latest blow against Vladimir Putin.

Russian officials have said the huge explosion has caused "casualties and destruction" on the port area of occupied Berdyansk, used by the Kremlin to export stolen grain.


A video posted on the Telegram social messaging app showed at least one large explosion consistent with a missile strike at the port located in the Sea of Azov in Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region.

“Information on the fatalities is being clarified,” Vladimir Rogov, a Russia-installed official in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region wrote on the Telegram.

The Berdyansk City Military Administration claimed that Russian ships taking Ukrainian grain and metal from the port were seen fleeing after the explosion.

Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles can travel up to 600mph and have the ability to blast targets up to 350 miles away.

Ukraine has only been able to hit Berdyansk since last month when the British government handed over the missiles.

The Storm Shadow missiles fired by Ukraine’s warplanes have already been used to hit supply depots, command posts in Luhansk and at least one previous strike on Berdyansk.

In southern Russia, local media reported that thousands of people were fleeing the town of Shebekino and surrounding villages along the Ukrainian border.

The area is being attacked by the pro-Ukrainian saboteurs that are storming across the border from inside Ukraine.

The mission was launched by the Freedom of Russia Legion to protect Ukrainian civilians and was being carried out exclusively by Russian citizens.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, said that there were now 2,500 people who had fled Shebekino and other villages to live in temporary accommodation in Belgorod City.

A video posted on the Telegram social messaging app showed at least one large explosion consistent with a missile strike

Reuters

Gladkov said: “Of course, conditions are difficult. These are huge sports facilities with hundreds of beds where both adults, children, the elderly, and the young sleep.”

Russian media reported that two women were killed when a shell hit the car they were travelling in to escape from Shebekino and shops damaged by shelling have been looted.

"Our enemy is thieves, murderers and war criminals in power in Russia, who unleashed a brutal war for their own benefit," the Freedom of Russia Legion declared online.

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