At approximately 1843 EST on 28 May 23 Ukrainian sources confirmed that an ongoing loitering munition attack was targeting port infrastructure in Odessa. The attack went well into the evening and the last reported explosion was at 1951 EST. Throughout the day on 29 May 23, the Odessa Oblast Regional Military Administration and the Ukrainian Operational Command South acknowledged the attack and commented on damage to port infrastructure.
However, at 1114 EST on 30 May 23, the first pro-Russian accounts began posting claims that the Ukrainian Navy Medium Landing Vessel Yury Olefirenko was destroyed in the attack. By 0548 EST on 31 May 23, the Russian ministry of Defense repeated these claims through Interfax.
The moment of the defeat of the "Yuri Olefirenko" of the Ukrainian Navy in the port of Odessa. pic.twitter.com/dDPDSFvlfV
— Spriter (@Spriter99880) May 31, 2023
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The Ukrainian military has refused to comment on this reporting.
This is now the third claim by Russian media outlets concerning this ship. The first was that the ship was captured during the Russian ground advance towards Kherson early in the war. The second was its destruction by artillery fire earlier in the war, now they are claiming it was sunk near Odessa. These claims have not been validated. On 10 Jun 22, the only other Ukrainian major surface combatant was capsized in the port of Ochakiv, leaving the Yury Olefirenko the only major surface combatant of the Ukrainian Navy, a prime target for Russian misinformation and disinformation. This story will be updated when further details emerge.
Yuri Olefirenko is a mid-size Project 773 (NATO code: Polnocny-C) landing ship of the Ukrainian Navy. From her original commissioning in 1971 until the 2014 Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, she was based in the Southern Naval Base at Donuzlav. Since then Yuri Olefirenko was relocated to Ochakiv. She was reportedly captured by Russian forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine before being spotted still in active service on 3 June 2022. (WIKI)
