Russia says it shot down Ukrainian drones in Crimea

Russian authorities said on Tuesday that they shot down Ukrainian drones in Crimea on Monday, days after a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the peninsula annexed by Moscow.

“Aircraft defense repelled a drone strike near the Crimean town of Dzhankoy,” Russian authorities said in a statement. “The targets of all ‘drones’ shot down were civil infrastructure,” they added.

Dzhankoy authorities declared a municipal state of emergency after the attack.

Crimea Governor Sergei Aksionov said one person was injured when parts of a downed drone fell on a house and a shop.

On Saturday, to mark the anniversary of the annexation, Vladimir Putin made a surprise trip to Crimea, visiting the Russian base in Sevastopol, the home port of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The Russian President then traveled to Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city conquered by Russian forces after a siege that reduced much of the city to rubble.

Since the launch of Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine, Crimea has been the target of several drone attacks.

In early March, Russia claimed to have repelled a “massive attack” by Ukrainian drones, adding that ten were shot down.

Russia has a military base in the Djankoi region. In August 2022, the base was devastated by an explosion in an ammunition depot, following an act of sabotage that Moscow later admitted to.