Russia Claims Ukrainian Drones Destroyed in Crimea, Black Sea

Russia said it destroyed nearly two dozen Ukrainian drones trying to hit Moscow-annexed Crimea, patrol ships in the Black Sea and border regions on Thursday.

Crimea has been targeted by Ukraine throughout Russia’s offensive but attacks there have recently intensified as Kyiv vows to take the Black Sea peninsula back.

“At about 5:00 am (0200 GMT), the Ukrainian armed forces attempted to attack the Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Sergey Kotov in the Black Sea with five unmanned sea boats,” Russia’s defence ministry said on Telegram.

“While repelling the attack, five unmanned enemy boats were destroyed by fire from the ship’s standard weapons.”

Moscow previously reported attempted attacks on the Sergey Kotov in July and in August.

At about 5:30 am (0230 GMT) on Thursday, “air defence systems on duty destroyed 11 unmanned aerial vehicles” over the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, the ministry said.

It did not say whether either attack caused any casualties or damage.

Earlier, Russia said that during the night from Wednesday to Thursday it had destroyed several Ukrainian drones targeting its border regions of Bryansk and Belgorod, with no casualties or damage yet reported.

The defence ministry said six drones had been shot down in four separate locations over the Bryansk region, which lies roughly halfway between Kyiv and Moscow.

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Another drone was destroyed further south over the Belgorod region on Wednesday evening.

Since Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in early June, Russia has weathered waves of drone attacks that have sporadically damaged buildings, including in the capital Moscow.

Russian officials have downplayed their significance.