Ukraine says it hit Russian naval tugboat with missiles

Ukrainian missiles hit a Russian naval tugboat transporting soldiers, weapons, and ammunition to the Russian-occupied Zmiinyi (Snake) Island south of the Odesa region on Friday, the regional governor said.

Odesa governor Maksym Marchenko identified the vessel as the Vasiliy Bekh.

Ukraine's Naval Command said the tugboat had a TOR anti-air missile system on board but this had failed to stop the strike.

The Naval Command said in a post on Facebook the Vasiliy Bekh had served in the Russian Black Sea Fleet since 2017.