War in Ukraine: Russian ship destroyed, deaths in the east of the country, bombing in Kharkiv… update on the situation

Plusieurs morts après des frappes russes dans la région de Donetsk ce 14 février 2024. MAXPPP – NATIONAL POLICE OF UKRAINE HANDOUT HANDOUT

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Wednesday, February 14, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

Ukraine says it destroyed Russian ship in Black Sea

The Ukrainian army and military intelligence (GUR) said on Wednesday that they had destroyed a Russian landing ship, the Tsezar Kunikov, off the coast of Crimea using naval drones. The vast assault ship was hit on its port side and began to sink, the GUR said in a statement.

The Kremlin did not wish to comment."The Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with the intelligence unit of the Ministry of Defense, destroyed the large landing ship Tsezar Kunikov. He was in Ukrainian territorial waters near Alupka at the time of the strike, the army said on Telegram messaging.

The seaside resort of Alupka is located not far from Yalta, at the southern tip of the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. The GUR broadcast a video on Telegram showing several maritime attack drones approaching at night a large ship and at least one explosion. Reuters was able to verify that it was indeed Tsezar Kounikov, without being able to verify the date or location of the images. The Tsezar Kounikov, one of the newest ships in the Russian fleet, has a crew of 87 men. He participated in conflicts in Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, the GUR said.

Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda posted videos showing a column of smoke rising above the Black Sea, as well as helicopters flying over the area. Russian news agency RIA, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, reported earlier on Wednesday that six Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the Black Sea.

Ukraine, which no longer has a large ship itself, having scuttled its only frigate at the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, is working to weaken the Russian fleet thanks to this type of attacks carried out regularly. A senior Ukrainian security official claimed in December that Ukraine had destroyed 20% of the Black Sea Fleet.

3 dead after Russian strikes in eastern Ukraine

Russia launched several missile attacks overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday against the town of Selydove, in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine, killing three people and injuring a dozen, damaging a hospital and a residential building, local authorities reported.

"Three civilians were killed (including a child)", the city communications department said on Telegram. Donetsk Governor Vadim Filachkin said 100 patients had been evacuated to hospitals in neighboring towns after a wing of the facility was damaged by one of the strikes.

Vadim Filachkine posted a video showing blown out windows, damaged walls and rubble inside what appears to be a medical facility, and patients sitting or lying in beds. This attack comes after a strike carried out late Tuesday against Selydove, during which apartments were destroyed and at least four people, including two children, were injured, said Vadim Filachkine.

The town of Selydove, which had about 24,000 inhabitants before the war, has become a regular target of Russian air attacks in recent weeks, according to Ukrainian officials.

What is this system that Kiev has developed to detect and intercept Russian drones ?

The war in Ukraine began almost two years ago, and military tactics between the two countries are at the heart of the conflict. For many months, drone attacks have been increasing, due to the inexpensive cost and effectiveness of these small flying weapons. But Ukraine has developed a system to intercept them but also destroy them, even before they reach their target, reports the magazine Géo.

But it is a very ingenious system that Ukraine has developed and which seems very effective. This involves a multitude of connected microphones (numbering in the thousands) which make it possible to detect Shahed drones, but also to find their trajectory in order to send a commando to intercept them .

This ploy was revealed and presented by a US Air Force official during the Air & Space Force, specifies the magazine. "To speak of an area which is not classified, Ukraine has carried out rather sophisticated things to create a permanent ISR [intelligence, surveillance and recognition] image of objects flying at low altitude", he explained, quoted by  The War Zone. He also indicated that Ukraine would have 6,000 copies of these systems.

2 died in Russian bombing in the Kharkiv region

A Russian missile strike against a residential building in the Kharkiv region, in northeastern Ukraine, left two dead and four injured this Wednesday, while four other people are probably buried under the rubble of the building, local police said.

Russia appears to have used the S-300 missile system to strike the village of Velykyi Burluk, where eight of the 16 apartments in the affected building were destroyed, police said. "According to initial information, two people were killed (…) Among the (injured) victims, there are three men and one woman", police said. Bordering Russia, the Kharkiv region, including its capital, is the frequent target of Russian attacks.