Conflicts & War

Russia repels drone attack on Sevastopol in Crimea

Moscow, Mar 22 (EFE).- The Russian-backed government in Sevastopol has claimed that air defenses foiled a drone attack on Crimea, blaming Ukrainian troops for the incident as fighting in the south escalates.

Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said the security forces destroyed three “objects” that did not cause any casualties or damage to the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the major port city of Crimea.

“The Black Sea Fleet repelled a surface drone attack on Sevastopol,” Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.

“They tried to penetrate our bay, our sailors fired at them from small arms. Air defence was also working.”

The Russian forces annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014 and the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The alleged Ukrainian surface drone attack comes after a similar strike on Dzhankoy city, in the north of the peninsula.

The Russian-backed Crimean authorities condemned the attack on the city that serves as a railway junction from where Russia supplies weapons to its troops in Kherson and Zaporizhia provinces.

Local administration chief Igor Ivin has imposed a municipal state of emergency in Dzhankoy after drone attacks on Monday,

“All the damaged facilities are under control. Working groups have been formed to assess the damage and determine compensation to be paid to the affected parties from the reserve fund,” Ivin said.

Official Russian Tass news agency said air defenses were activated in Dzhankoy on Monday night after drone fragments damaged a home and a store, leaving one person injured.

President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Sevastopol on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.

He said Russia would do everything to fight security threats to the peninsula.

In the military campaign ordered by Putin on Feb.24, 2022, Russia has created a land bridge between Donbas in eastern Ukraine and Crimea in the south.

Over the past 13 months of the war, Crimea has been the target of several attacks blamed on Ukraine. EFE

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