[1/2]In this illustration from January 27, 2022, the flags of Russia and Ukraine can be seen printed on paper. Portal/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire License Rights
Sept 17 (Portal) – Russia said it foiled a coordinated Ukrainian attack on Crimea early on Sunday, while drones also targeted Moscow, disrupting air traffic in the capital and causing a fire at an oil depot in the country’s southwest.
Ukraine has launched a series of attacks in recent days on Russian military targets in occupied Crimea and on facilities of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet, seeking to undermine Moscow’s war efforts in the critical region.
Attacks deep inside Russia, far from the front lines, have also increased. Moscow’s mayor said at least two drones were shot down in the capital region early Sunday.
Portal could not independently verify Sunday’s reports and there was no immediate comment from Kiev.
In a statement late Saturday, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council, called on Kiev’s allies to speed up the delivery of weapons, saying it was the only way to end the war.
“For example, the complete or partial elimination of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is a feasible task, should significantly accelerate the process of Russia’s search for a way out of the ongoing war,” Danilov wrote on the news site Ukrainska Pravda.
Russian air defense systems destroyed at least six drones targeting Crimea from different directions, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
The report on messaging app Telegram did not say whether there was any damage or casualties on the peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in a widely condemned move in 2014, eight years before Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
In the Moscow region, a drone was destroyed over the Istra district and another over the Ramensky district, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties or damage from drone debris.
According to Russian state news agencies, Moscow’s major airports experienced delays and six flights were canceled – a common action taken by aviation authorities during drone attacks.
In southwestern Russia, a Ukrainian drone damaged an oil depot early Sunday and started a fire at a fuel tank that was later extinguished, the regional governor said.
“There are no injuries, all emergency services are operating on the premises of the facility,” Oryol Region Governor Andrei Klychkov said in Telegram.
He did not say whether the depot was hit by debris or attacked by the drone.
Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Edited by David Gregorio, Kim Coghill and William Mallard
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