KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — The Russian military repelled a Ukrainian attack on the port of Sevastopol on Monday, Russian-appointed authorities in Crimea said, and a drone was reportedly found in a forest near Moscow. The two attacks came amid expectations of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The army destroyed a Ukrainian maritime drone attempting to attack the port at dawn, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, a Moscow-appointed leader for the Crimean city of Sevastopol. Another drone exploded harmlessly.
The incident followed a series of attempts to attack Sevastopol, the main naval base in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment on Monday’s events. After previous attacks on Sevastopol and other areas, authorities in kyiv stopped short of claiming responsibility, though they stressed the country’s right to attack any target in response to the Russian invasion.
Separately, reports in Russian media indicated on Monday that an explosive drone had been found in a forest some 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) east of the Russian capital.
Although the device did not explode, the incident underlined the Ukrainian ability to reach the heart of Russia, amid expectations that the Ukrainian army would launch a spring counteroffensive to retake occupied areas.
Observers believe the operation will most likely focus on the Russian-controlled parts of the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions in the south. If successful, it would allow Ukraine to cut the land connection between Russia and Crimea.
Ukrainian troops have recently established themselves near the town of Oleshky, on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
Ukraine has recently received sophisticated weapons from its Western allies and newly trained troops in the West, raising expectations of an offensive.
US-made Patriot missiles arrived in the country last week, and army spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on Ukrainian television Sunday that some have already entered service.
For their part, Russian forces continue the effort begun nine months ago to capture the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.
Russian military bloggers speculated on a Ukrainian counter-offensive accompanied by a series of drone strikes against many different locations.
Russian media identified the downed drone near Moscow as a Ukrainian-made UJ-22 Airborn. The aircraft was found Sunday by a resident. According to media, the device crashed after running out of fuel or hitting a tree. He was carrying 17 kilograms (37 pounds) of explosives, they added.
The UJ-22 is a small reconnaissance drone that can carry about 20 kilos (44 pounds) of explosives and has a range of up to 800 kilometers (about 500 miles) in flight.
Last month another drone was found in Schchelkovo, about 15 kilometers northeast of Moscow. The authorities suspected that this aircraft, which did not carry explosives, had also arrived from Ukraine.
A Ukrainian U-141 Strizh heavy drone exploded in March in the city of Kireyevsk in the Tula region, some 200 kilometers east of Moscow. The attack injured three people, left a huge crater and damaged several buildings. The Russian Defense Ministry said the drone had been shot down by anti-aircraft defenses.
Russian authorities have said that Ukraine is using the Soviet-made Tu-141 drones, which have a range of about 1,000 kilometers, to attack facilities in Russia. In December, those models attacked two Russian airbases for nuclear-capable long-range bombers. The Russian Defense Ministry said the drones had been shot down, but acknowledged that shrapnel had damaged some aircraft and killed several soldiers.
The authorities also reported in February the discovery of a Ukrainian drone in a forest near Gubastovo, in the Kolomna region, about 80 kilometers southeast of Moscow. The drone came down near a major natural gas pumping plant, its apparent target.
Another drone exploded in February in a forest near Kaluga, about 150 kilometers southeast of Moscow, leaving no one injured.
In Ukraine, the presidential office said Monday that at least four civilians had been killed and 13 others wounded in Russian attacks in the past 24 hours. Two people died in Bakhmut and another two in the southern city of Kherson.
