Russia downed 13 Ukraine drones, to Crimea and Moscow

MOSCOW: Russia’s defence ministry said early on Thursday it had downed 11 Ukrainian drones near Crimea overnight, as well as two drones flying toward the capital Moscow.

“Two UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) flying in the direction of the city of Moscow were destroyed,” the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

It said two Ukrainian drones were shot down near the city of Sevastopol on the Crimean coast, and “another 9 were suppressed by means of electronic warfare and crashed in the Black Sea”.

The ministry said there were no reports of damage or casualties in any of the affected areas.

The strikes come a day after Russia said two Ukrainian combat drones headed for Moscow were shot down, and constitute at least the fourth attack near the capital within a week.

Until a series of attacks in recent months, Moscow had not been targeted during the conflict in Ukraine, which began more than a year ago.

The Russia-annexed Crimean peninsula, however, has been disrupted by several strikes throughout the hostilities, and has seen more frequent attacks in recent weeks.

Russia said Saturday it had downed a drone over the ocean near Sevastopol, the base of its Black Sea fleet.

In July, Ukrainian drone strikes on Crimea blew up an ammunition depot and damaged the bridge across the Kerch Strait linking the peninsula to Russia’s mainland.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned last month that “war” was coming to Russia, with the country’s “symbolic centres and military bases” becoming targets.