Ukraine claims it destroyed Russian ships in occupied port

Ukraine said its armed forces had destroyed the Russian landing ship “Orsk” near the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said the ship was capable of carrying 45 armoured personnel carriers and 400 people. Reuters was unable to verify the report.   

However CNN reported the armed forces of Ukraine saying they had destroyed a large landing ship “Orsk”. According to the report several Russian ships had been unloading military equipment at Berdyansk in recent days.   

The Armed Forces of Ukraine added that in addition to destroying the “Orsk”, two other ships had been damaged as well.   

The CNN report added “a 3,000-ton fuel tank was also destroyed.   

It is not known how the ships were attacked.   

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to NATO leaders to increase military support for Ukraine against Russian forces. He warned Russia would next target alliance members in eastern Europe.   

A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. Embassy in Moscow received a list of its diplomats declared “persona non grata” by Russia.   

Russian media said the move was in response to a US move ousting Russian staff at the United Nations.   

Elsewhere, Switzerland said it had frozen around 5.75 billion Swiss francs ($6.17 billion) worth of Russian assets covered by sanctions and that amount was likely to rise, a government official said.   Ukraine (Reuters/CNN) 24 March 2022 -