2023-09-02 14:07:58
Russia said on Saturday it had shot down three Ukrainian naval drones that had targeted the strategic Crimean bridge.
Published on: 09/02/2023 – 14:07Modified on: 09/02/2023 – 14:10
2 min
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Ukrainian drones were shot down at 2:20 am Moscow time (20:20 GMT, Friday), which prevented the attack on the bridge.
It links the Crimean peninsula, annexed by the Kremlin in 2014, to Russian territory and is a frequent target of attacks by Kiev forces. Russia uses it to transport military material for its troops in Ukraine.
On August 12, Moscow claims to have neutralized two Ukrainian bombing raids on the bridge, which spans the Kerch Strait. In July, an attack caused extensive damage to the building.
Ukraine claims first attack
The airport of Pskov, a Russian city close to the border with Estonia, Latvia and Belarus, 700 kilometers from Ukraine, was targeted by Ukrainian drones in the early hours of Wednesday (30).
Ukraine claimed the attack. This was the first time that the Ukrainian government has admitted that it operates within Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky celebrated the fact that his country had hit a target hundreds of kilometers away. The operations coincide with the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which began in June to try to expel the Russians from its territory, but which has registered little progress so far.
During the conflict, which began in February 2022, Russia suffered several drone strikes and alleged acts of sabotage, in addition to a series of attacks by Russian fighters acting on behalf of Ukraine.
Putin will welcome Erdogan
In Russia, during a meeting with teenagers at the beginning of the school year, President Vladimir Putin praised this Friday (1) the country’s military power, in reference to the victory in World War II.
“I understood why we won the war. We were absolutely invincible and today we continue to be,” Putin declared.
In the Ukrainian capital, the return to school was marked by bomb threats against schools, but the government did not order the early departure of students.
The US government, Ukraine’s main military and financial support, on Friday celebrated “the remarkable advances” on the southern front in the last 72 hours.
In the economic sector, two more cargo ships set sail from a Ukrainian port and are sailing through the Black Sea in a maritime corridor traced by Kiev, despite threats from Moscow, which in July abandoned an agreement mediated by the UN and Turkey that allowed the export of grains.
Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of agricultural products and key countries for global food supply.
Turkey, in the role of mediator of the agreement, has repeatedly appealed to Russia to resume the agreement. Putin will receive Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday in the Russian city of Sochi, on the shores of the Black Sea.
With information from AFP
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