MOSCOW (AFP/Reuters) -- Russian authorities said Monday they had “repelled” a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea, adding that there was no damage nor casualties.
The peninsula, seized by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, is home to Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet and has been hit by a series of drone attacks since the Kremlin’s special military operation in Ukraine in February last year.
“An attempted attack on Sevastopol was repelled from 3:30 am,” the Russian-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram, adding that one unmanned surface vehicle, or drone ship, was destroyed while a second exploded.
“Everything is calm in the city. But all the troops and services are ready for combat”.
In October, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was hit by a major drone attack that the Kremlin blamed on Ukraine.
Russia said its forces had advanced in Bakhmut while a top Ukrainian commander said his troops were holding the frontline through the city, all but destroyed in some of the bloodiest combat of the 14-month war.
The Russian defense ministry said its forces had secured two blocks in western districts and airborne units were providing reinforcements to the north and south. Russia sees Bakhmut as a stepping stone to more advances in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi shared images on the Telegram messaging app of him poring over a map with three other uniformed men, with the caption “Bakhmut frontline. Our defense continues.”
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed confidence on Monday that the bloc would finalize a plan within days to buy ammunition for Ukraine after Kyiv expressed frustration at wrangling among EU member states.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed frustration in a tweet last week that the landmark deal sealed last month for EU countries to jointly buy artillery shells for Kyiv has not yet been implemented due to disagreements over how much of the business has to stay within Europe.
Artillery rounds, particularly 155mm shells, have become critical to the conflict as Ukrainian and Russian forces wage an intense war of attrition. Officials say Kyiv is burning through more rounds than its allies can currently produce.
The joint procurement plan is part of a multi-track EU deal to get 1 million artillery shells or missiles to Ukraine within 12 months and ramp up European munitions production, approved by foreign ministers last month.