Russian navy ‘repels’ drone attack on Crimea’s Sevastopol port

MOSCOW: The Russian navy on Saturday thwarted a drone attack on the Sevastopol port, home to Moscow´s Black Sea Fleet in Russia-annexed Crimea, Moscow-installed authorities said.

“Today, starting at 04:30 am for several hours, various air defence systems in Sevastopol repelled drone attacks,” Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram.

“All UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) have been shot down.”

Razvozhayev had earlier said the Russian navy was repelling a drone attack.

“Ships of the Black Sea Fleet are repelling a UVA (unmanned aerial vehicle) in Sevastopol bay,” he said in the early hours of Saturday.

The governor said the city´s services were on “alert”, but said no “civilian infrastructure” had been damaged.

A student dormitory at an art college near the port saw “one windowpane burst” but “no harm was done”, he added.

He called on residents of the city not to post videos of the incident on social media.

“It should be clear to everyone that such information is much needed for Ukrainian Nazis in order to understand how the defence of our city is built,” he said.

Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Its forces attacked Ukraine from several directions in February this year, including from Crimea.

The announcement came as Ukrainian forces press a counter-offensive to retake land in the Russian-occupied south.

City authorities said that the harbour was “temporarily” closed to boats and ferries.

Earlier this week, Razvozhayev said that a drone had attacked a thermal power station near Sevastopol.

The Russian fleet stationed in the port had also been attacked by a drone in July.Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, said on Saturday´s drone attack was the “most massive” the peninsula had seen.The city´s services were on “alert”, but he claimed no “civilian infrastructure” had been damaged.

He called on residents of the city not to post videos of the incident on social media.

“It should be clear to everyone that such information is much needed for Ukrainian Nazis in order to understand how the defence of our city is built,” he said.

City authorities said that the harbour was “temporarily” closed to boats and ferries and urged people “not to panic”.

Attacks on Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, have increased in recent weeks, as Kyiv presses a counter-offensive in the south to retake territory held by Moscow for months.

Moscow-installed authorities in Kherson, just north of Crimea, have vowed to turn the city into a fortress, preparing for an inevitable assault.

On Thursday, Razvozhayev said a thermal power station had been attacked in Balaklava, in the Sevastopol area.

He claimed there was only minor damage and no casualties.

In early October, Moscow´s bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland -- personally inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2018 -- was damaged by a blast that Putin blamed on Ukraine.

The Russian fleet stationed in the port had also been attacked by a drone in August.

Russia´s allegations Saturday came as the Ukrainian army reported fighting in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions in the east, including near Bakhmut -- the only area where Moscow´s forces have advanced in recent weeks.

Pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside Moscow also announced a new prisoner exchange with Kyiv, saying 50 will return home from each side.

On the southern front, AFP journalists witnessed artillery battles in the village of Kobzartsi, the last settlement on the Ukrainian side before the line of contact with the Russians.

Meanwhile, Russia on Saturday suspended its participation in a landmark agreement that allowed vital grain exports from Ukraine, blaming drone attacks on Russian ships in Crimea.

Russia made the announcement after its army accused Kyiv earlier Saturday of a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea fleet, which Ukraine labelled a “false pretext” and the UN urged the deal´s preservation.

The Turkey and UN-brokered deal to unlock grain exports signed between Russia and Ukraine in July is critical to easing the global food crisis caused by the conflict.

The agreement already allowed more than nine million tonnes of Ukrainian grain to be exported and was due to be renewed on November 19.

A Turkish security source told AFP that Ankara had not been “officially notified” of Russia´s suspension, while Ukraine and the UN pushed for the agreement to remain in force.

“I call on all states to demand that Russia stop its hunger games and recommit to fulfilling its obligations,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said: “It is vital that all parties refrain from any action that would imperil the Black Sea Grain Initiative which is a critical humanitarian effort.”