Russia downs 20 drones over Crimea following a spate of attacks on Moscow

Russia thwarted an onslaught by 20 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow-annexed Crimea overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

Fourteen drones were changeable down by Russian aerial defenses and a further six were jammed electronically, the ministry said successful a Telegram post. No casualties oregon harm were reported. Kyiv officials neither confirmed nor denied Ukraine's engagement successful the attacks.

As videos circulated connected Russian societal media Saturday appearing to amusement fume rising supra a span linking Russia to Crimea, the annexed peninsula's Moscow-appointed governor, Sergei Aksyonov, reported that Russian aerial defence had besides prevented an onslaught determination by shooting down 2 Ukrainian missiles.

The span was not damaged, helium said, though postulation was concisely halted. An advisor to Aksyonov, Oleg Kryuchkov, claimed that "a fume surface was enactment up by peculiar services."

Russia's Foreign Ministry "strongly condemned" the attempted onslaught connected the Crimean bridge. The ministry said successful a connection that specified "barbaric actions" by the Armed Forces of Ukraine "will not spell unanswered."

Shortly aft reporting the downing of the 2 Ukrainian missiles, Aksyonov said Russian aerial defence had changeable down different rocket implicit the Kerch Strait.

The span connecting Crimea and Russia crossed the Kerch Strait carries dense value for Moscow, some logistically and psychologically, arsenic a cardinal artery for subject and civilian supplies and arsenic an assertion of Kremlin power of the peninsula it illegally annexed successful 2014.

Last week, a Ukrainian oversea drone deed a Russian tanker adjacent the bridge, portion an onslaught connected the span past period killed a mates and earnestly wounded their daughter, leaving a span of the roadway hanging perilously. The harm appeared to beryllium little terrible than that caused by an battle successful October, but it again highlighted the bridge's vulnerability.

The attempted drone and rocket attacks travel 3 consecutive days of drone attacks connected the Russian capital, Moscow. Firing drones astatine Russia, aft much than 17 months of war, has small evident subject worth for Ukraine but the strategy has served to unsettle Russians and bring location to them the conflict's consequences.

Drone attacks person accrued successful caller weeks some connected Moscow and connected Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine successful 2014 — a determination that astir of the satellite considered illegal.

Elsewhere, Russia claimed Saturday it had regained power of the colony of Urozhaine successful Ukraine's easternmost Luhansk portion successful an overnight counterattack.

A 73-year-old pistillate was killed aboriginal Saturday greeting successful Russian shelling of Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, according to determination Gov. Oleh Syniehubov.

Ukrainian interior affairs curate Ihor Klymenko said a constabulary serviceman was killed and 12 radical wounded erstwhile a guided Russian aerial weaponry deed the metropolis of Orikhiv successful Ukraine's partially occupied confederate Zaporizhzhia region. Four of the wounded were besides constabulary officers, helium said.

Local officials said explosions rang retired Saturday greeting successful the cardinal Ukrainian metropolis of Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown, but that determination were nary known casualties.

On Ukraine's Black Sea coast, the metropolis of Odesa opened respective beaches for the archetypal clip since Russia launched its full-scale penetration successful February 2022.

Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said that six beaches were open, but helium stressed that accessing beaches during aerial raid alerts was forbidden.

The strategical larboard and cardinal hub for exporting atom has been taxable to repeated rocket and drone attacks — peculiarly since Moscow canceled a landmark atom woody past period amid Kyiv's grinding efforts to retake its occupied territories — portion Russian mines person regularly washed up connected the city's beaches.