During the night, Russia shot down 19 Ukrainian aerial drones over the Black Sea and the annexed Crimean Peninsula, as well as three others in the Kursk, Belgorod and Orel regions, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday, AFP notes.
Drone from the war started by Russia in UkrainePhoto: LIBKOS / AP / Profimedia
“Air defense systems destroyed 19 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the territory of the Republic of Crimea,” the ministry wrote at around 02:15 (Wednesday 23:15 GMT) on Telegram, adding that three other devices were shot down in the Kursk regions, Belgorod (southwest) and Orel (west), bringing the total number of devices to 22.
On August 25, the same source claimed that Russia shot down 42 Ukrainian drones in Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
On the night of September 13-14, Russia claimed to have destroyed five Ukrainian drones, this time naval, in the Black Sea as they attempted to attack the patrol ship “Sergei Kotov”.
On Wednesday, local authorities indicated they had thwarted other Kiev strikes targeting Sevastopol, a major Black Sea port used by the Russian navy.
The governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvojaev, said on Telegram on Thursday that reports that drones were destroyed in the city area are inaccurate. “Yes, the air defense works, but in the Crimea area” administered separately from Sevastopol, he said.
Attacks by Ukrainian drones against Russian territory have increased in recent months amid a counteroffensive by Kiev that was launched at the beginning of June.
Crimea is regularly targeted, as are the Russian border regions with Ukraine, as well as the capital Moscow. (Agerpress)
