Crimea Comes Under Attack Again

Ukrainian drones targeting Crimea have been intercepted by Russian air defenses, Moscow has said, amid reports that Kyiv is stepping up its strikes on the occupied peninsula.

The Russian defense ministry said on its Telegram channel that on 7.30 a.m. Wednesday, "an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by an aircraft-type UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped."

"On-duty air defense systems destroyed three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Republic of Crimea," added the message, without specifying where exactly the interception took place.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky has repeatedly said that one of Kyiv's aims in the war started by Russia was to recapture the peninsula that Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Tass state news agency on Wednesday that in 2024 the 10th anniversary of what the Kremlin has called "the reunification of Crimea with Russia" will see "large-scale" celebrations.

But ahead of the anniversary, Crimea continues to be a focus for Ukrainian strikes, with high profile attacks in recent months, such as September's hit on the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol.

Wednesday's incident comes a day after social media users in Crimea posted reports of loud explosions around Yevpatoria and Saky on the peninsula's west coast. An image posted on X, formerly Twitter, by user Pulse of Ukraine shows what it is purportedly the Saky Thermal Power Plant "presumably on fire." An air base in the area was also reportedly hit in a high-profile attack but Russian state media played down the reports.

"The enemy is planting fakes," commented Oleg Kryuchkov, an official of the Moscow-installed administration in Crimea, writing on his Telegram channel.

There has been a renewed intensity in drone warfare in the fight for Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukraine have used the devices to target each other's capital cities in recent days, with UAVs being shot down on both Saturday and Sunday in areas around Kyiv and Moscow.

Following reports of a downed drone near the Russian city of Bryansk, Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov appeared to express nostalgia for the pre-war era on his radio show.

"There was a time when we used to have a serious discussion about whether tea or coffee was better in the morning and life seemed quiet and peaceful," he said in a clip posted on X by Ukrainian internal affairs adviser, Anton Geraschchenko.

"If someone had told me that my morning would start with checking news reports and finding out that the Ministry of Defense says that the Kyiv regime attempted a terrorist attack by an airplane-type UAV against a facility on Russian territory…I would think 'all right guys, stop pretending, this shouldn't happen."

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