Russia downed a barrage of 42 Ukrainian drones near Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday, in the largest recent air attack on the peninsula and a day after Kyiv claimed its special forces carried out a raid on the annexed territory.
Nine drones were “destroyed… over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,” the Defense Ministry wrote on the Telegram messaging app early Friday.
Thirty-three others “were suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed without reaching their targets,” it added without specifying whether there had been any damage or casualties.
Earlier, a local Russia-installed official said several drones had been destroyed over the sea off Crimea’s Cape Khersones.
The cape is located in the southwest of the peninsula near Sevastopol, which is home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
Emergency services reported no damage to civilian infrastructure from those drones, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram.
It was not clear whether they were included in the 42 reported by the Defense Ministry.
“All forces and services are in a state of combat readiness,” Razvozhayev said.
In recent weeks, Kyiv has targeted Russian infrastructure in Crimea with barrages of up to 28 aerial drones.
On Thursday, Ukraine said its special forces had landed on the peninsula and flown the country’s flag during a “special operation” to mark its second wartime Independence Day.