Ukraine Launches Strike on Russia HQ   09/22 06:30

   Ukraine carried out a fiery missile strike Friday on the main headquarters 
of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, a Russian official said. Videos and photos showed 
large plumes of smoke over the building in Sevastopol in annexed Crimea.

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine carried out a fiery missile strike Friday on 
the main headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, a Russian official said. 
Videos and photos showed large plumes of smoke over the building in Sevastopol 
in annexed Crimea.

   The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said 
there was no information about casualties. He said firefighters were battling a 
blaze, and more emergency forces were being brought in, an indication that the 
fire could be massive.

   A stream of ambulances were arriving at the fleet's headquarters and 
shrapnel was scattered hundreds of meters (yards) around, the Tass news agency 
reported.

   Razvozhayev initially warned Sevastopol residents that another attack was 
possible and urged them not to leave buildings or go to the city center. He 
later said there was no longer any air strike danger but reiterated calls not 
to go to the central part of the city, saying roads were closed and and 
unspecified "special efforts" were underway.

   Ukrainian officials, who have claimed responsibility for a series of other 
recent attacks on Crimea, didn't immediately announce Kyiv launched the strike.

   Sevastopol residents said they heard explosions in the skies and saw smoke, 
Russian news outlets reported. Images circulated in Ukrainian Telegram channels 
showed clouds of smoke over the seafront. The Associated Press could not 
immediately verify the videos.

   The attack comes a day after Russian missiles and artillery pounded cities 
across Ukraine, killing at least five people as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 
met with President Joe Biden and congressional leaders in Washington with an 
additional $24 billion aid package being considered.

   The port city of Sevastopol serves as the main base for Russia's Black Sea 
Fleet.

   Last week, the Russian-installed authorities there accused Ukraine of 
attacking a strategic shipyard in the city, damaging two ships undergoing 
repairs and causing a fire at the facility.

   The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in an act 
that most of the world considered illegal, has been a frequent target since 
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more 
than 18 months ago. The attack on the shipyard was the biggest in weeks.

   In other developments, ongoing shelling in the southern Kherson region 
killed one man and injured another, said regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin.

   "Kherson has been restless since the morning," he said on Telegram.

   Russian shelling sparked fires in a residential building and a garage.

   In Kharkiv, regional Gov. Oleh Synyehubov said over 14 settlements came 
under attack. A house was damaged and a fire broke out in Vovchansk, in 
Chuguyiv district. There were no casualties, the governor said.