KIEV/MARIUPOL Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine said one of its naval vessels came under artillery attack from the shore on Sunday, in what pro-Russian rebels claimed as the first sea victory of their separatist war.
"A Ukrainian border patrol cutter in the Azov Sea was attacked from the shore today. Artillery was used. A rescue operation is under way," Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told Reuters.
A Ukrainian military officer who asked not to be named said: "It appears that a ship has been damaged, I do not know who exactly fired on it and with what."
No further details were available on the vessel and the number of crew on board.
"The militia have dealt the enemy their first naval defeat," Igor Strelkov, a separatist military commander who stepped down in mid-August, said on the social media network VKontakte.
Photographs and videos posted on Strelkov's page showed footage shot from the shore looking out to sea, where thick black smoke was visible on the horizon. It was not possible to confirm their authenticity.
The separatists, who want to break away from Ukraine and join Russia, have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since April in a conflict that has killed some 2,600 people.
Sunday's attack came days after the rebels opened a new front, breaking through to the shore of the Azov Sea in Ukraine's southeast corner. Ukraine and its Western allies attributed the sudden rebel advance to help from Russian tanks and troops, something Moscow continues to deny.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Aleksandar Vasovic; Writing by Mark Trevelyan, editing by Rosalind Russell)
Poster Comment:
Lou M This conflict started with US/EU greed/expansionism! Their involvement in the government overthrow of Ukraine and subsequent installment of their puppets in office, triggered Russia's annexation of Crimea to defend it's Black Sea ports. The ethnic Russians in the east, took up arms the minute their Russian language was banned by the new nationalists in government relegating Russian native speakers to second class status within their own country. What do you think it would happen if the people in Quebec were told their language was no longer part of the Canadian constitution and banned from politics? 22-8
Anthony Popovich United States miscalculated what would occur if US intelligence meddled & stirred trouble in the overthrown govt in Kiev. The govt was overthrown in a coup d'état. Which if you think about it is NOT what the USA professes is how it should be done democratically. But the miscalculation by the US was that this has all backfired; and now half of Ukraine will vote and democratically expunge itself from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. 4
Tatarewicz: It's not really Western greed that's a factor since both US and Europe have superior technology which could be sold to Ukraine if it had the money and skilled manpower to use it. However, Western politicians depend to a substantial extent for election to office on Israeli duals for campaign organization, funding and media support. In return for this support politicians are obliged to assure Israel's security including fighting it's enemies some of which Russia supports in trade It's no coincidence that Jews from Israel and US were instrumental in the Kiev coup and Ukrainian Jews are now in the top leadership of the country. Hopefully Putin can steer the country away from kind of fate Russia encountered under Bolshevik Jews and America under the financially plundering Israeli agents.