Kyiv, Moscow exchange volley of drones – DW – 09/14/2023

Russian forces destroyed five Ukrainian sea drones which attacked a navy ship in the Black Sea on Thursday, Russia said.

The RIA news agency cited the Defense Ministry as saying the sea drones had tried to attack the Sergei Kotov ship.

Tension has intensified in the Black Sea since Moscow withdrew in July from a UN-brokered deal which allowed Ukraine to export grains via the sea amid the ongoing war.

Ukraine said that it downed 17 Russian drones attacking its southern, central and northern territories overnight, out of a total of 22 drones.

Ukraine’s air force said in a post on the messaging platform Telegram that Iranian Shahed drones attacked the country “from three directions.”

Moscow also said it had destroyed several Ukrainian drones over its border regions of Bryansk and Belgorod overnight. 

The Defense Ministry said six drones in four separate locations over the Bryansk region were downed. The region is roughly equidistant between the Ukrainian and Russian capitals.

Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said no damage or casualties were reported. He added that emergency services were present on the scene.

The defense ministry added that it “thwarted” an attack by a drone over the Belgorod region. The regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said the drone was “shot down” over Tulyanka village.

Russian air defenses destroyed 11 drones over Crimea on Thursday morning, Russian media reported.

The RIA state news agency described the drones as “hostile.” 

RIA earlier reported that car traffic was suspended on the bridge that connects the Crimea peninsula to mainland Russia. It gave no reason for the traffic suspension.

rmt/rc (AFP, Reuters)