Ukraine Attacked Russian Base on Crimea: Kyiv Source

Ukrainian aerial and maritime drones struck Russian military targets on the annexed Crimean peninsula, a defense source in Kyiv told AFP Thursday, after Moscow reported an overnight drone assault.

Ukrainian forces have recently escalated drone and missile attacks on Russian military installations on the peninsula that was captured by Russian forces in 2014.

The source said an operation carried out by the navy and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had damaged or disabled a command center and an ammo depot among other facilities at Lake Donuzlav in western Crimea.

“This is yet another reminder to the enemy that Ukrainian Crimea is turning into a trap for Russians, where they will be systematically destroyed,” the source said in written comments.

AFP could not independently verify the claims and there was no immediate response from Moscow on the specific sites Kyiv said were hit.

Moscow had said earlier its defensive systems had downed 33 Ukrainian aerial drones overnight over Crimea and 10 naval drones that were heading for the peninsula.

Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said earlier on Thursday 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 neutralized overnight in the Bryansk region of western Russia, according to the Russian defense 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.