MOSCOW (Dispatches) – The Russian Defense Ministry says the country’s air defenses have shot down eight Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula.
“Overnight to September 10, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using aircraft-type UAVs on facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped,” the ministry was quoted as saying by Russia’s Sputnik news agency on Sunday.
“Air defense systems on duty destroyed eight unmanned aerial vehicles over the Black Sea near the coast of the Republic of Crimea,” the statement added.
The ministry also said that three U.S.-made military speedboats carrying Ukrainian military personnel were destroyed northeast of Snake Island in the Black Sea, falling short of providing details on whether there was any damage or injuries from either incident.
There has been no immediate comment from the Ukrainian military.
Russia began what it called a “special military operation” in Ukraine in February last year, but its territories have come under a series of drone attacks only in recent months.
The Crimean Peninsula, which rejoined Russia back in 2014 after a referendum, has been disrupted by several strikes throughout the war and has seen more frequent attacks during the past several weeks.
The number of drone attacks against Russia has dramatically increased in the past weeks as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted at a change in Kiev’s failed tactics.
The Kremlin says the West and NATO are playing a direct role in the Ukraine conflict by pouring advanced weapons and military equipment into the country, warning that NATO weapons are “legitimate targets” for its armed forces.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for Russia not to be “marginalized” in negotiations aimed at restoring a crucial Black Sea grain export deal, stressing that any initiative that isolates Moscow is unlikely to be sustainable.
Erdogan made the remarks in a press briefing after the conclusion of the annual meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on Sunday, where he said the issue of reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative was discussed in great detail.
“No process that marginalizes Russia on the Black Sea grain initiative will be viable,” he said, adding a meeting is going to be held on the issue between representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations, without specifying a precise date or location.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations on July 22, 2022, allowed for the safe export of grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
Russia withdrew from the deal in July this year, saying its conditions for the agreement were not met. Moscow complained that its agricultural exports faced obstacles and not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need under the grain deal.
It said its grain and fertilizer exports faced barriers in practice because of sanctions by the West affecting port access, insurance, logistics, and payments - including the removal of agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank from SWIFT.