Ukrainian commando raid on Crimea repelled – Moscow

The Russian Air Force has foiled an attempt by Ukrainian commandos to land in Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday morning. 

According to the MOD, a Ukrainian unit was heading towards Cape Tarkhankut on the western edge of the peninsula. The commandos were allegedly traveling on a military motor boat and three jet skis towards the peninsula, where a Russian naval base and several airfields are located.  

The ministry added that 31 drones were “intercepted and destroyed” overnight in Russia’s western regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk.

Regional officials also reported cross-border shelling by Ukrainian forces, but added that no one was hurt. Bryansk Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said several houses were hit by fire from multiple rocket launchers. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkdov, meanwhile, wrote on Telegram that 12 houses were damaged in the town of Grayvoron.

Kiev has stepped up rocket and drone attacks on Crimea in recent months. On September 13, Ukraine struck a shipyard in Sevastopol with cruise missiles, damaging two naval vessels, according to the Russian military. Nine days later, a missile struck the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. The MOD said at the time that one service member was missing after the attack.