“Our military repels an attack on Crimea,” said Russian Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvojaev on Telegram on Monday evening, September 25. “According to preliminary information, anti-aircraft defense shot down a missile near the Belbek airfield. Efforts are still ongoing,” the governor added.
Russian authorities had issued an air attack alert at 8:57 p.m. local time (5:57 p.m. GMT) across the peninsula. The governor announced an hour later that the alert was lifted.
Ukrainian forces have carried out a number of attacks on Russian positions on the Crimean peninsula since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, but these attacks have intensified in recent months as Kiev has obtained Western weapons and ambitions to recover its entire territory.
Ukraine claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on Friday. Russia admitted only one serviceman was missing, but Ukrainian special forces said the strike killed 34 officers, including the commander of the Black Sea Fleet. The AFP is unable to verify these claims, and Moscow almost never reports its losses in Ukraine, even when it comes to senior officials.
Furthermore, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that its anti-aircraft defense had neutralized seven Ukrainian drones over the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukrainian territory. The local governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said there were no casualties in the attack. The Russian ministry also said that four Ukrainian drones had been destroyed in the Kursk region, which also borders Ukraine.