Britain Says Ukraine Used US-Made Harpoon Missile to Sink Russian Tugboat
Russian officials still haven't commented on Ukraine's claims that it sunk the tugboat Vasiliy Bekh with the Western-provided weapon.
On Tuesday, the British Defense Ministry backed the Ukrainian claim that Ukrainian forces sunk a Russian tugboat with US-made Harpoon missiles, an incident Russia has not commented on. Ukraine said it sank the Russian tugboat Vasiliy Bekh on Friday and released a video of what it said was the vessel being hit with two missiles. The Vasiliy Bekh was designed for rescue operations, but Ukraine claims it was transporting a missile system to Snake Island, which is located in the Black Sea and was captured by Russia early on in the war. The British Defense Ministry assessed that Ukraine “almost certainly” targeted the Vasiliy Bekh and used US-made Harpoon missiles. The claim is still not confirmed, but the incident marks the first time Kyiv has been said to use the Western-provided anti-ship missiles.
Ukrainian army shells Donetsk territory with more than 30 shells (SANA)