Ukraine’s air force claimed credit for the missile strike in occupied Crimea, showing a lapse in Russia’s air defenses, but there were no confirmed casualties.

Russian forces fired a total of 43 missiles across Ukraine from east to west, and 36 of them were shot down by Ukrainian air defense, according to Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was among the major cities hit, along with areas of Kharkiv, Kherson, Cherkasy, Rivne and Lviv.

The strike on the symbolic heart of Russia's Black Sea fleet marks a major blow for Moscow, which has suffered a string of attacks on the strategically important port in recent months

Ukraine launched a missile attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet on Friday, the latest and perhaps one of the most ambitious of Kyiv’s recent strikes on Russian military targets in Crimea.

Footage authenticated by BBC Verify shows the moment a Ukrainian missile strike hit the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea. One serviceman is missing after the missile attack on the port city of Sevastopol,