Deadly Ukrainian missile attack damages ships, leaves Russian shipyard ablaze: Live updates

Explosions and fire tore through a crucial Russian shipyard in occupied Crimea on Wednesday when a Ukrainian attack damaged a ship and a submarine, killed two people and wounded dozens more, authorities said.

The submarine Rostov-on-Don and the large landing ship Minsk were in drydock for repairs when Ukraine forces struck the Sevmorzavod shipyard with 10 cruise missiles and three unmanned boats, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The shipyard in Sevastopol is home base for Russia's Black Sea fleet.

The defense ministry said that seven missiles and the boats were destroyed and that its ships would be repaired and returned to service. Ukrainian authorities said the ships appeared to have been destroyed and shipyard infrastructure damaged.

The attack also temporarily halted traffic on the Kerch Strait bridge linking Crimea with Russia.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly demanded the return of Crimea among concessions Russia must make to end the war. Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the attack was a necessary response to Russia's blockade that has kept Ukraine ships from delivering crucial grain to Africa and elsewhere.

“The demilitarization of the Russian Black Sea fleet is a real, long-term guarantee of security for regional trade routes and the grain corridor,” Podolyak said.

Is Putin getting desperate in Ukraine? Outreach to Kim Jong Un puts spotlight on weapons shortages

War developments:

◾Ukraine's war-battered power grid is being prepped for colder weather and will be ready for winter, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

◾Germany announced a new aid package for Ukraine featuring 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, two mine-clearing tanks, 20 reconnaissance drones, 10 drone detection systems and a satellite system along with other vehicles and ammunition.

G7 ministers reject 'sham' Russian elections in Ukraine

The G7 foreign ministers "unequivocally condemn" the staging of sham elections held by Russia last week in the occupied territories of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia oblasts and Crimea, the ministers said in a joint statement Wednesday. United Russia, a popular party in Russia that supports Russian leader Vladimir Putin, won overwhelming victories in the legislative races, the Kremlin said. But the G7 dismissed the vote as a "propaganda exercise" that attempted to legitimize the illegal seizure of Ukrainian territory.

"These sham elections are a further violation of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and of the U.N. Charter," the statement said, adding that the seven countries will "continue to provide the financial, humanitarian, security and diplomatic support Ukraine requires for as long as it takes."

Ukrainian pilots coming to US for F-16 training this month

The U.S. could have the first Ukrainian pilots trained on F-16 fighter jets by year's end, but it will take longer to have them flying combat missions, the director of the U.S. Air National Guard said Tuesday. Lt. Gen. Michael Loh said Ukrainian pilots are being evaluated for English language skills before they are scheduled to arrive at Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona by month's end. The training should take about three months, but the pilots will then need to return to Europe for NATO training, Loh said.

“It’s a national priority,” Loh said.

Putin, North Korea's Kim meet in Russia

North Korea's Kim Jong Un told Putin that his country would always stand by Moscow as it defends its security interests on the "anti-imperialist front" as the two authoritarian leaders met at a space base and adjoining rocket facility Wednesday in a far-flung corner of eastern Russia.

Kim and Putin's face-to-face talks at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Siberia lasted four to five hours, according to Russian state media, which has been publishing some of their remarks addressed to reporters. The talks provide an opportunity for Russia to obtain desperately needed arms − and for Kim to appear on a global stage after years of suffocating international sanctions.

"A fierce standoff is underway ... between progress and reactionism, between justice and injustice," Kim said at a luncheon hosted by Putin, whom Kim called "Comrade Putin." "The process of a multipolar world is actively developing thanks to the common will and joint strength of independent forces."

Putin leaves door open for military collaboration

The United Nations has passed nearly a dozen resolutions sanctioning North Korea for developing nuclear weapons and related activities. Putin said that the two countries could work together on transportation and other projects and that Russia could help North Korea with agricultural development.

A weapons deal would violate the international sanctions Russia supported in the past. Putin, asked about military cooperation, acknowledged "certain restrictions, Russia is following all of them." But he added that "there are things we can talk about, we’re discussing, thinking."

Kim calls Russian invasion a 'just fight'

As Kim and Putin toured the facility, Putin said they would discuss "all issues." He also said that North Korea's leader is interested in getting Russian help to develop satellites for its space program. Kim offered Putin his country’s "full and unconditional support" for Russia’s "just fight," an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine.

"We are confident that the Russian army and people will certainly win a great victory in the holy struggle to punish the gathering of evil," Kim said. It wasn't immediately clear to whom he was referring.

Kim offers Putin full support. What about an arms deal?

Russian news agency RIA Novosti said that after the talks with Putin, North Korea's reclusive leader boarded his luxury armored train for the long journey back to Pyongyang. On his way home he was expected to make two more stops in Russian cities to tour factories that make civilian and military equipment.

If an arms deal was reached, it was kept secret.

North Korea has the world’s fourth-largest military, with more than 1.2 million personnel, according to the Council on Foreign Relations think thank. Analysts believe it possesses a stockpile of bullets and artillery shells, as well as chemical and biological weapons. It has successfully tested nuclear-armed missiles capable of striking the U.S.

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Russia needs more weapons, ammunition

As the war in Ukraine grinds on, Russia needs to replenish its ammunition. That was a key factor in an ill-fated, two-day rebellion by Wagner Group mercenaries after their leader berated the Russian Defense Ministry for its failure to supply sufficient ammunition.

"I think it says a lot that Russia is having to turn to a country like North Korea to seek to bolster its defense capacity in a war that it expected would be over in a week, that in September of 2023 it is going to North Korea to get munitions to try to continue to grind out on the battlefield in Ukraine," U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a White House briefing last week.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Live war updates: Ukrainian attack leaves Russian shipyard in flames