...
By Jordan King
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The Kerch Bridge in Crimea and seemingly the Black Sea shipyard were targeted in a Ukrainian attack, which was foiled by Russia's Black Sea Fleet's Naval Aviation, multiple military bloggers and Moscow have reported.
Since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has consistently zeroed in on Russian assets dotted around Crimea, which the Kremlin has controlled for a decade. Ukraine has vowed to reclaim the peninsula.
The Kerch Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, was closed to traffic in the early hours of Friday morning, with explosions near the Zalyv shipyard reported by residents, according to several Telegram channels, including Crimean Wind.
Read More on News
Several bloggers, including X account Glasnost Gone, said they suspected Russian ships were being targeted.
"It's looking like they again targeted Russian vessels in the Zaliv shipyard, near the Kerch bridge," Glasnost Gone posted. "Explosions heard in the area. This likely the work of Ukraine's deadly sea drones."
Newsweek has contacted Ukraine's Ministry of Defense via email for comment.
The Kerch Strait's air defense systems were active during the attack, the Telegram channel Crimea Realities reported.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and sea drones were reportedly used for the operation, which the Russian Defense Ministry said was thwarted by air defense systems and the Black Sea Fleet's Naval Aviation.
In a statement on Telegram the ministry said: "Over the past night, attempts by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using aircraft-type UAVs against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation were thwarted. Air defense systems on duty destroyed 33 Ukrainian UAVs.
"Fourteen UAVs were destroyed over the territory of the Voronezh Region, 11 were shot down over the territory of the Kursk Region, seven UAVs over the territory of the Belgorod Region, and one over the territory of the Republic of Crimea. Also, the crews of the Black Sea Fleet's Naval Aviation destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned boats in the Black Sea, which were heading towards the Crimean Peninsula."
...
In October, Ukraine launched drone attacks on Russian-controlled Crimea from the air and sea overnight, according to what Moscow said at the time.
Russian air defenses reportedly intercepted 10 airborne drones over Crimea. The Black Sea naval fleet, partially based on the peninsula, "destroyed" four Ukrainian waterborne drones, also known as uncrewed surface vehicles, which "were heading for the Crimean Peninsula," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
These strikes have forced Russia to relocate some assets from Sevastopol to its mainland Russian base in Novorossiysk, further east in the Black Sea and the northwestern region where Kyiv can more easily threaten its naval fleet. Ukraine has also targeted Novorossiysk.
Russia has attempted to shield its bases from attacks by using barges, decoys and false silhouettes to trick or trip up Ukrainian drone operators, British intelligence has said.
Moscow announced earlier this year that it would beef up the protection around its fleet with large-caliber machine guns to shoot at incoming naval drones before they strike Russian vessels.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines