Russia on Friday praised the work of its air defences, saying that they had downed 42 drones over the Moscow-controlled Crimean peninsula, a day after Ukraine claimed its forces launched a raid there.
Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, has been focused by Kyiv all through Moscow’s Ukraine offensive however has come underneath extra intense assaults in latest weeks.
“All air defence methods are working fairly successfully,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, including that “minor harm” was typically unavoidable.
He was responding to a query about whether or not the Kremlin was involved about more and more frequent drone assaults, after waves of drones had been downed over the peninsula.
9 drones had been “destroyed… over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,” the defence ministry wrote on Telegram early Friday.
Thirty-three others “had been suppressed by digital warfare and crashed with out reaching the goal,” it stated, with out specifying whether or not there had been any harm.
The ministry later stated it downed a drone over the Kaluga area, southwest of the capital.
Moscow has been focused by nearly day by day drone assaults in latest days.
The Kaluga area was additionally focused by a “missile” in a single day, which was detected and destroyed by air defences, the ministry stated.
Flights to and from Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports had been briefly halted, the TASS information company reported, with out specifying the rationale.
– ‘Engaged in fight’ –
An area Russian-installed official earlier stated a number of drones had been destroyed within the sea close to Sevastopol, which is residence to Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
Emergency companies reported no harm to civilian infrastructure from these drones, the Moscow-backed governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.
It was not clear whether or not they had been among the many 42 reported by the defence ministry.
“All forces and companies are in a state of fight readiness,” Razvozhayev stated.
Russian army bloggers have criticised air defence across the peninsula, particularly after Ukraine destroyed a strong anti-aircraft system there on Wednesday.
And on Thursday, Ukraine stated its forces had landed on the peninsula and flown the nation’s flag throughout a “particular operation” to mark its Independence Day.
Particular forces troops landed in a single day on Crimea’s western shore close to the cities of Olenivka and Mayak, the place they “engaged in fight”, Ukraine’s GUR intelligence company stated.
Moscow has additionally {accused} Ukraine of attacking the Russian-built Crimean bridge, which connects the peninsula to Russia.
The bridge has been closed as a result of a number of incidents together with an enormous explosion in October final 12 months.
– ‘Absolute lie’ –
Reviews of the aerial assault got here because the Pentagon stated it might start coaching Ukrainian F-16 pilots in america beginning subsequent month.
The jets have lengthy been sought by Kyiv, now slowed down in a plodding counter-offensive aimed toward retaking land held by Russian forces.
US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian chief Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on Thursday about plans to coach Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, the White Home stated.
Earlier, Biden stated he was “not stunned” at information Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group and who led a quick mutiny towards Russia’s army, might have died in a airplane crash.
“I don’t know for a truth what occurred, however I’m not stunned,” Biden stated.
The Kremlin on Friday reacted to those strategies.
“In fact, within the West, this hypothesis is being introduced from a sure angle. All of that is an absolute lie,” Peskov stated.
Putin on Thursday broke his silence in regards to the crash, paying a certified tribute to the mercenary boss and the paramilitary group he led.
“He was a person of sophisticated destiny, and he made critical errors in his life, however he achieved the proper outcomes,” Putin stated.
