Russian navy ‘repelled’ drone assault on Crimea port

MOSCOW: The Russian navy “repelled” a drone assault on the port of Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea early Wednesday, officers mentioned.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu mentioned two girls, who shot down two of the three drones, might be awarded and given money bonuses.

The peninsula, seized by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, is house to Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet and has been hit by a collection of drone assaults for the reason that Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine.

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The assault got here after President Vladimir Putin made a shock go to to Sevastopol over the weekend.

Shoigu mentioned three drones tried to focus on Russia’s infrastructure in Crimea however had been destroyed.

The Russian-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev mentioned that navy personnel had shot on the drones with “small arms” and that “air defence was additionally working”.

Razvozhayev mentioned there have been no casualties and claimed no ships had been broken however added that the explosions blew out home windows in a number of buildings.

Razvozhayev downplayed the assault, saying the navy “confidently and calmly” repelled it.

He urged calm, saying the “state of affairs was beneath management”.

He additionally dismissed stories that individuals had been leaving Crimea, saying it was a “lie” unfold by Kyiv.

“Data is spreading about evacuations from the peninsula by ferry crossings and different such nonsense,” he mentioned.

A day earlier Kyiv mentioned Russian missiles had been destroyed in a blast in Crimea however denied duty for the incident.

In October, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was hit by a significant drone assault that the Kremlin blamed on Ukraine.