The Russian Defense Ministry later said its air defense units shot down a total of 36 Ukrainian drones during the attack, as well as another UAV over Krasnodar territory.
Russian anti-aircraft artillery opens fire. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense
Specifically, the statement said that an attack “on facilities on Russian territory using fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles was prevented. 36 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down and intercepted by air defense systems in Crimea.”
However, some of the Ukrainian UAVs appeared to have hit their targets. Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk posted a video on Telegram showing smoke rising from the explosion near Sevastopol, a port city that serves as the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.
The governor of Russia's Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, described the attack as "the largest in recent times." He wrote on Telegram that one person was hospitalized after shrapnel hit a house. Mr Razvozhayev later added that three residents of a house hit by the debris had been evacuated.
The chief administrative official in Saky, which has an air base north of Sevastopol, said several Ukrainian airstrikes on the area had been repelled.
The Russian Defense Ministry also reported earlier that its forces had destroyed 10 missiles headed for the peninsula. Meanwhile, the Strategic Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said a Russian command post had been attacked near Sevastopol.
In another development on the battlefield, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the Ukrainian army continued shelling the Russian territory of Belgorod with Olkha multiple launch rocket systems, damaging 20 private residential areas, 6 apartments, 12 economic infrastructure facilities and 13 vehicles.
Bui Huy (according to TASS, Reuters)
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