A large-scale drone attack launched by Ukraine targeted Crimea early Friday, resulting in power outages in the city of Sevastopol and sparking a fire at a refinery in southern Russia.
Russian authorities reported the incident, attributing it to Kyiv’s retaliation amidst Moscow’s ongoing offensive in northeastern Ukraine. Despite this, Ukraine has not officially acknowledged or claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Russian Defense Ministry revealed that Ukrainian drones were intercepted and downed by air defenses, with 51 drones brought down over Crimea, 44 over the Krasnodar region, and six over the Belgorod region. In addition, Russian warplanes and patrol boats destroyed six sea drones in the Black Sea.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, confirmed damage to the city’s power plant due to the drone attack, leading to a temporary disruption in energy supplies. He estimated that it could take up to a day to fully restore power and advised residents to prepare for potential cuts in certain areas. As a precautionary measure, schools in the city were closed temporarily.
The aftermath of the attack was also felt in the Krasnodar region, where an oil refinery in Tuapse caught fire following a drone strike.
Fortunately, the fire was contained, and there were no reported casualties. This incident adds to a series of Ukrainian attacks on energy facilities within Russia, causing significant damage in recent times.
In Novorossiysk, a major Black Sea port, fragments from downed drones sparked several fires, according to the governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev. Despite the fires, no casualties were reported. All though, in the Belgorod region, a Ukrainian drone strike resulted in the tragic death of a woman and her 4-year-old child, along with a fuel tank ablaze at a gas station.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces continued to resist Russian advances in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The town of Vovchansk, located near the Russian border, witnessed intense fighting, prompting the evacuation of around 8,000 civilians.
Russian tactics have typically involved aerial strikes to devastate towns and villages before ground units move in. The conflict has also extended to other regions along the extensive front line in eastern Ukraine, with recent attacks reported in Donetsk, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The objective appears to be to strain Ukrainian resources and exploit vulnerabilities, perpetuating a war of attrition that has seen little change in the front line over the past 18 months.
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