Russia claims drone attack on occupied Crimea

Yalta, Crimea, on June 18, 2023. (Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian drone over occupied Crimea on May 2, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed.

Russian air defense shot down a drone at around 6:30 p.m. local time, according to the ministry. No casualties or damages were reported.

The Crimean Bridge was closed to traffic and a siren went off in military units in occupied Sevastopol, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel wrote.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.

In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on occupied Crimea, targeting Russian military assets in and around the Black Sea.

A Russian proxy claimed on April 30 that air defenses had intercepted Ukrainian missiles over the cities of Dzhankoi and Simferopol overnight.

While Kyiv has not officially commented on the attack, Russian Telegram channels claimed a missile strike on a military airfield in Dzhankoi, the second in recent weeks. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) shared satellite images on May 2 purported to show damaged Russian equipment.

Ukraine destroyed several units of military equipment in an attack on a Russian military airfield in Dzhankoi on April 17, Ukraine's military intelligence reported.

Two days earlier, Ukrainian forces carried out a missile attackon a command post in Crimea where top Russian officers were deployed, an intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent.

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