RUSSIA DOWNED 33 Ukrainian aerial drones overnight over Crimea and 10 naval drones that were heading for the peninsula, Moscow’s defence ministry has said.

“Air defence systems on duty destroyed and intercepted 33 aerial drones over… Crimea,” the ministry said in a Telegram post, adding that forces “in the Black Sea destroyed 10 naval drones that were heading towards the Crimean peninsula”.

Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said earlier today that loud noises heard in the Crimean city were linked to the Russian army retaliating “against an attempted attack by a surface drone”.

Late last month, Moscow accused Ukraine of carrying out a deadly strike in Crimea using US missiles, killing at least four people, including two children, and injuring more than 150, according to the local authorities installed by Russia.

Two drones were also neutralised overnight in the Bryansk region of western Russia, according to the Russian defence ministry.

“There were no casualties or damage,” local governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram Thursday.

Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian territory this year, targeting both energy sites that it says supply the Russian army, as well as towns and villages just across the border and in Crimea.

Both sides have used drones extensively since the conflict began in February 2022.

© Agence France-Presse