On the morning of November 2nd, Russia claimed to have shot down six Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and the occupied Crimea, as noted in a report by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to Moscow, an unmanned aerial vehicle was hit over the Black Sea by air defense systems, while five others were intercepted over the territory of the occupied peninsula. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the information.
On November 1st, an air raid warning was triggered in the city of Sevastopol in Crimea, accompanied by a traffic blockade on the Crimean Bridge. Mikhail Razvozhaev, the city administrator appointed by Russia, indicated that smoke was visible in the bay and attributed it to military operations. Already on October 30th, local media published reports of several explosions in the city. Authorities supported by Russia stated that air defense actions were underway.
Since the summer of 2023, there has been a series of increasingly destructive attacks on Russian military facilities on the occupied peninsula. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on October 24th that Ukraine’s recent attacks have prevented the Russian fleet from using safe harbors and sea routes in the western part of the Black Sea, while Kyiv’s troops are trying to expel the forces installed by Russia from Crimea.
Image: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, Vladimir Putin 18.03.2021.jpg, via Wikimedia Commons (no changes made)
