The port, which had not too long ago been occupied by Russian forces with a number of Russian warships in dock, was rocked by a sequence of heavy explosions quickly after daybreak.
Social media movies confirmed fires raging on the dockside, with a sequence of secondary explosions reverberating throughout town.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine stated they'd "destroyed a big touchdown ship," which they named because the Orsk in a submit on Fb.
A number of Russian ships had been unloading army gear at Berdyansk in current days, based on experiences from the port by Russian media retailers.
The Ukrainian armed forces stated that in addition to destroying the Orsk, two extra ships have been broken.
"A 3000-ton gasoline tank was additionally destroyed. The hearth unfold to the enemy's ammunition depot. Particulars of the harm inflicted on the occupier are being clarified," they stated.
It isn't identified what weapon was used to assault the port.
Evaluation of movies uploaded on Thursday confirmed that one Russian naval vessel left the port quickly after the explosions.
The Russian Ministry of Defence had beforehand reported that "the big touchdown ship Orsk is the primary warship of the Russian Federation to enter the port of Berdyansk".
"It delivered gear - armoured personnel carriers," the ministry stated.
"The ships of this challenge are very spacious and may tackle board a considerable amount of gear, as much as 20 tanks or as much as 40 armoured personnel carriers."
Berdyansk sits on the Azov Sea and is roughly 70 kilometres southwest of Mariupol.
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Town has a small naval base and a inhabitants of about 100,000.