Several drones tried to attack Crimea – local leader

Five drones were shot down overnight over Russia’s Crimea, and four others were intercepted by means of electronic warfare and forced to land, the region’s leader Sergey Aksyonov has said.

One of the destroyed UAVs crashed in the city of Dzhankoy in the north of the peninsula, Aksyonov said. Windows were shattered in three homes and several cars as a result, he added.

Another unexploded unmanned aircraft was discovered on the territory of a private house, according to the Crimean leader. Some 50 people had to be evacuated from the area before the drone was deactivated, he wrote.

“There were no casualties or injuries as a result of the overnight attack. I ask everyone to remain calm and trust only reliable sources of information,” Aksyonov said.

Crimea and its largest city, Sevastopol, which hosts Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, have been frequently targeted by Ukrainian aerial and naval drones since the start of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022.

A week ago, six UAVs were intercepted using electronic warfare, or shot down above the peninsula. In early May, at least ten drones targeted Sevastopol, but the assault was repelled by Russian forces.

Several UAVs were shot down in Dzhankoy in March, an incident that left one person wounded and caused damage to property. Back then, Aksyonov’s aide Oleg Kryuchkov insisted that there were no military installations near the affected area.

For months, Ukraine has been building up to a major counteroffensive that it claims will seek to recapture all territories lost to Russia, including Crimea, which overwhelmingly voted to join the Russian state in 2014 after a Western-backed coup in Kiev.

US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland claimed a few months ago that Washington was “supporting” Ukrainian attempts to strike targets in Crimea. The peninsula has been turned into a military base with command posts, logistics depots and airfields by Moscow and has to be “demilitarized,” she insisted.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who serves as deputy head of the country’s Security Council, earlier suggested that threats against Crimea by Ukrainian officials were just “propaganda.”

However, he warned that if the peninsula is actually attacked, it could become “the basis for the use of all means of protection, including those provided for by the fundamentals of the doctrine of nuclear deterrence.”

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