Crimea subjected to ‘drone attack’, condemns Moscow

Will there be strikes on Crimea in response to the latest Russian bombing of Ukraine? The Russian-controlled Ukrainian peninsula was the target of a drone attack on Tuesday, local authorities appointed by the Kremlin said.

“There is an attack by drones,” Mikhail Razvozhaev, governor of the Moscow-appointed administrative district of Sevastopol (Crimea), said on Telegram. “Our air defense forces are working right now.” He said two drones had “already been shot down.” The pro-Russian official added that no civilian infrastructure was hit and urged residents to “remain calm.” »

This is not the first time that this territory, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, has been attacked. In late October, Moscow announced that it had repulsed a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet based in the port of Sevastopol. The attack, which damaged at least one of its ships, caused Moscow to briefly pull out of the historic grain deal in Ukraine.

Fortification works in the Crimea

In early October, the Kerch Bridge, which connects the peninsula with Russian territory, was badly damaged by an explosion that the Kremlin blamed on Ukraine.

Authorities in the region announced on Friday that they were carrying out fortification work, suggesting they feared a Ukrainian offensive following Kyiv’s recent offensives in neighboring Kherson region, which has never made a secret of its ambitions to retake the peninsula.

During the Russian offensive on February 24, Putin’s forces attacked Ukraine from several directions and, in particular, from Crimea. The Ukrainians suspect them of storing troops and ammunition there and sending reinforcements there.