Air Force commander reacts to overnight attack on Russian naval shipyard

"While the occupiers are still recovering from the choppy ‘bavovna’ night in Sevastopol, I would like to thank the Air Force pilots for their excellent combat work", Oleshchuk said.

Explosions in Russia or Russian-held territory far behind the frontlines are popularly referred to in Ukraine as "bavovna" ("cotton" in English), as the Russian word for a small explosion resembles the Ukrainian word for cotton.

A submarine and a landing ship in Russia’s Black Sea fleet were damaged in the attack, according to Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) spokesman Andriy Yusov. Two shipyard employees were reportedly killed, and 26 were injured.

While Yusov did not name the vessels involved in the attack, reports have emerged on social media that the Kilo-class submarine Rostov-na-Donu and the Ropucha-class landing ship Minsk were the ships involved.

The Crimean Bridge that connects the Moscow-annexed peninsula with continental Russia was shut down to traffic as a result of the incident.