Drone attacks on Crimea repelled – Moscow
Russian troops have thwarted several Ukrainian drone attacks on the Crimean Peninsula, the Defense Ministry said in a series of statements on Friday.
Kiev’s forces first launched 26 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Friday evening, the ministry said, adding that all of the drones were destroyed over the peninsula by Russian air defenses.
Ukraine then conducted a second attack on Crimea involving another six drones, which were downed as well, the ministry said in a separate statement. The Russian military reported no casualties or material damage linked to the Ukrainian air raids.
Earlier on Friday, Ukrainian forces also launched a drone attack on Russia’s Kursk Region, which borders Ukraine. Russian defenses were able to thwart it as well, shooting down two UAVs, the ministry said.
Kiev has stepped up its missile and drone attacks on Crimea over the past months. In September, 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.
In October, dozens of Ukrainian drones were spotted and destroyed over the Black Sea and the northwestern part of Crimea. Another “swarm of drones” was destroyed by Russian air defenses over the Sea of Azov and the peninsula in early December.
On Thursday, Kiev also attempted to launch a drone attack on Moscow. Russian air defenses downed UAVs near the capital, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said at that time.
Earlier, the Ukrainian general in charge of UAV operations, Sergey Baranov, said Kiev is preparing for a large-scale drone bombing campaign against Russia this winter.
