Ukraine says missile forces hit Russian air base in Crimea

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine said on Friday its missile forces struck a Russian military airfield in Crimea that has been used for long-range attacks against it, the latest in a series of blows to the Russian military on the occupied peninsula.

Ukraine has ramped up long-range attacks on Crimea in recent months and says the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, which is headquartered in Sevastopol, has been forced to move its combat vessels to safer harbour elsewhere.

The Ukrainian military's general staff said in a statement that Russia's Saky airfield in western Crimea was the latest target to be struck and that it was assessing the aftermath.

"This is one of the operational airfields that Russia uses to control the airspace, in particular the Black Sea, and for launching airstrikes on Ukrainian territory," it said.

The statement did not say which weapon was used but that the attack was carried out by Ukraine's missile forces alongside other contingents. There was no immediate comment from Russia's defence ministry or local Moscow-installed officials.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy implicitly acknowledged the strike in his nightly video address, commending "our soldiers who are striking Russian bases and logistics on occupied territory.

"To our guys, our soldiers, I thank you for your accuracy."

Almost 2-1/2 years into Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has claimed to have struck in recent months a string of Russian air defence systems deployed in Crimea, such as S-300 and S-400 units.

On Tuesday, Ukraine said it had significantly damaged Moscow's last freight ferry capable of carrying rail carriages from Russia's Krasnodar region to Crimea, a setback for Russian supply routes to the peninsula.

Kyiv said the ferry had been used for military purposes. Ukraine's navy also said the strike had forced Russia to withdraw all its warships from the Azov Sea.

Ukraine says it has destroyed or damaged 27 Russian warships in the Black Sea and near Crimea during the war. Ukraine's navy spokesman said earlier this month that Russia's last naval patrol ship had been observed leaving the peninsula.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; editing by Tom Balmforth, Christina Fincher, Mark Heinrich, Ron Popeski and Rod Nickel)