A new offensive of kyiv forces in Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed early Friday, August 25, that it shot down 42 Ukrainian drones in Crimea, describing an attack of a rare scale on the peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. “Nine drones were destroyed as a result of the impact of fire over the territory of the Republic of Crimea. 33 drones were neutralized by electronic warfare means and crashed without reaching (their) target,” Russian Defense said on Telegram.
The ministry did not provide information on any damage or casualties following the destruction of the devices. Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvojayev had earlier reported that several aircraft had been shot down off the peninsula “in the area of ??Cape Chersonese”, located some 10 kilometers from Sevastopol, the home port of the Russian fleet of the black Sea.
Ukraine congratulated itself on Thursday for having carried out a rare commando operation in annexed Crimea and for having hoisted the national flag there, a symbolic success in this bastion considered impregnable by Moscow for Independence Day. On Wednesday, Ukrainian military intelligence claimed responsibility for the destruction of a Russian surface-to-air missile system on the peninsula.
Russian air defense also shot down a Ukrainian missile aimed at “civilian targets” in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said early Friday (August 25). An attempted attack by Kyiv against “civilian targets on the territory of the Russian Federation has been foiled”, the ministry communicated on Telegram.
“The missile was detected and destroyed by air defense systems over the territory of the Kaluga region,” the same source added. The Russian Defense did not provide more information about the places targeted and did not indicate whether the destruction of the missile had caused any damage or victims.
Russian state-run news agency TASS also reported the closure to air traffic of Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo international airports early Friday, citing air services. The Kaluga region borders that of Moscow, which has been targeted several times in recent days by Ukrainian drones according to the Russian authorities.
