Russia drops 28 marches over Crimea.. and launches air raids on southern and eastern Ukraine

Russia shot down 28 Ukrainian drones on Crimea at night, according to what the Russian Defense Ministry and a local official said, on Tuesday.

The Russian Information Agency quoted the Russian Ministry of Defense as saying that Russian air defenses and electronic countermeasures systems shot down 28 Ukrainian drones over Crimea in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The ministry said that the drone attacks did not result in injuries or damage.

The ministry indicated that the air defense systems shot down 17 drones, while the electronic warfare systems intercepted the other 11. “As a result of the intercepted terrorist attack, there were no casualties or damage,” the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed.

The frequency of attacks by drones in Crimea has increased in recent weeks, as Ukraine launches a counterattack on Russian forces.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, but the international community did not recognize this measure. Kiev confirms its intention to restore Crimea.

Ukrainian naval drones targeted the only bridge linking Russia with Crimea on Sunday night, killing two civilians.

The attack hit the Kerch Bridge, vital for transporting supplies to Russian soldiers in Ukraine, hours before the expiration of a deal to export Ukrainian grain.

And in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that Russia had launched night air strikes on southern and eastern Ukraine, using drones and possibly ballistic missiles.

The Air Force said on the messaging application “Telegram” that the southern port of Odessa and the regions of Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk were threatened by attacks by Russian drones.

She added that Russia may use ballistic weapons to attack the regions of Poltava, Cherkassy, ​​Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kirovohrad.

For his part, Ole Kipper, head of the military administration of the Odessa region, said that the air defense systems there participated in repelling attacks by a Russian drone.

counterattack

Last month, Kiev launched a counter-offensive to retake Russian-occupied territories and took the lead in the all-out Russian invasion, now in its 17th month.

Kiev has made increasing gains in parts of the east and south since launching its long-awaited counter-offensive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with state television that the operation was “not achieving success” and that attempts to penetrate the Russian defenses had failed.