UPDATES WITH STATEMENT ON ALLEGED UKRAINIAN DRONE ATTACK IN CRIMIEA; REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia on Wednesday claimed that it shot down Ukrainian drones over the Kaluga region and the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
“Today, at about 5:00 a.m. Moscow time (0200GMT), an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by three unmanned aerial vehicles on objects in the Kaluga region was thwarted,” a Russian Defense Ministry statement said.
The statement said that all of the drones were “timely detected and destroyed” by Russian air defense systems, adding that no damage or casualties were inflicted.
A later statement by the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that it foiled an attempt to carry out an attack in Crimea with one aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at about 11:00 a.m. Moscow time (0800GMT).
The UAV was detected and destroyed by Russian air defense systems, it said.
Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the claim, and independent verification of Russia’s claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.