Multiple Ukrainian drones were deployed in attempt to strike Sevastopol on Thursday morning, according to the governor of the Crimean port city that hosts Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The attack was reportedly fended off with no damage caused by the UAVs.
“Early in the morning, our military repelled another drone attack on Sevastopol,” Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev wrote in a Telegram message.
At least two UAVs were shot down with small arms by the Black Sea Fleet forces, while “several more” were neutralized and downed using electronic warfare, the official claimed. The military has yet to issue a statement.
“No facilities in the city were damaged,” Razvozhaev said, adding that all security services “continue to monitor the situation.”
Crimea, which hosts major Russian naval facilities, has repeatedly come under Ukrainian attack since the start of the conflict. Kiev insists on re-capturing all of its former territories from Russia, including the peninsula, which voted in a referendum to rejoin Russia in 2014 in the aftermath of the Western-backed Maidan coup.
Over the course of the conflict, Ukraine has also repeatedly used sea drones to target Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. On Wednesday, the Russian Navy reconnaissance ship ‘Ivan Churs’ fended off an attack by three unmanned speed boats, according to the Defense Ministry.
Several previous attempts to strike warships stationed at the port of Sevastopol have also been unsuccessful, with the unmanned speedboats detected and destroyed on their approach, or becoming caught in the harbor's protective netting.