“The enemy launched a missile attack on the headquarters of the fleet,” Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram.
Over the past month, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian military bases and other installations, including air defenses, in Crimea.
Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters, is one of the largest cities on the Crimean peninsula and was illegally annexed by Moscow’s forces in 2014.
Russian’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) said a Russian soldier was killed as a result of the missile attack.
“This afternoon the Kyiv regime launched a missile strike on the city of Sevastopol,” the MOD posted on Telegram.
“While repelling a missile attack, five missiles were shot down by air defense systems. As a result of the attack, the historical headquarters building of the Black Sea Fleet was damaged. According to available information, one soldier was killed,” the MOD stated.
Russian state media TASS reported that debris was “scattered for hundreds of meters” following the missile strike. TASS added that a large number of ambulances were on their way to the scene of the attack.
Razvozhayev also said a piece of shrapnel fell near the Lunacharsky Theater.
The Russian-appointed governor said operational services went to the scene of the attack and that information about any casualties is being clarified.
In an update later Friday, Razvozhayev said there was no more “missile and aviation danger” following the incident.
Razvozhayev had previously warned that another attack was possible and encouraged residents to avoid the city center.
Ukrainian officials have yet to comment on the incident.
Over the past month, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian military bases and other installations, including air defenses, in Crimea.
In recent weeks, Ukraine launched a missile attack on a shipyard in Sevastopol. Officials said a Russian S-400 missile system was destroyed in Crimea, and most recently a Russian command post near Sevastopol on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Ukraine Defense Intelligence spokesman, Andrii Yusov, told Ukrainian television that “Crimea is still being used as a logistics hub for, among other things, the transfer of enemy forces and means to other parts of the front,” and stated that “in order to destroy this logistics hub, certain operations are being used and implemented: at sea, on land, and in the air.”
