Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency said a Ukrainian drone attack had hit a Russian military base deep inside annexed Crimea, while residents reported casualties, explosions, and a road closure.
Russia recorded one of the most coordinated Ukrainian air strikes over Russian territory to date, but claimed that air defense systems shot down all 42 drones bombing Crimea before they could reach their targets.
However, Ukrainian intelligence officials said the attack struck Russia’s 126th Coastal Defence Brigade based in Perevalnoye, a town more than 200 km from Ukraine-controlled territory.
Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014, declaring it Russian territory. The United States says it supports Ukrainian attacks on Russian military targets on the Black Sea peninsula because it should be demilitarised.
“People not only on the Ukrainian mainland, but also in Crimea, need to remember and believe that our victory and their liberation are not far away,” Ukraine’s military intelligence commander, Kyrylo Budanov, stated.
