A senior Russian official said Saturday that a Ukrainian ballistic missile had been shot down over the annexed Crimean peninsula, a rarity at a time when a future counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces is brewing, Agence France-Presse reports.

Satellite images of military equipment in CrimeaPhoto: AFP / AFP / Profimedia

“Air defense forces shot down a ballistic missile fired by the Ukrainian Grom-2 complex over the Republic of Crimea. There is no destruction, there are no victims,” ​​Serhii Aksyonov, the head of Crimea appointed by Moscow, said on his Telegram channel on Saturday, reports Agerpres.

At that time, one of his advisers, Oleg Kryuchykov, said that two Grom-2 missiles had been shot down, according to detailed information.

This information could not be independently verified, AFP reports.

As the Russian news agency TASS reports, this is the second time that the authorities have reported the use of Ukrainian Grom ballistic missiles over Crimea. The first message was received last month.

Since the summer of 2022, Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, has been regularly bombarded by explosions and attacks from the air, and sometimes by surface (sea) drones.

In late April, a drone strike caused a massive fire at an oil depot in Sevastopol, Crimea, home to the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The new announcement comes amid an increase in drone strikes, sabotage and suspected attacks in Russia, sometimes far from Ukraine, in recent weeks, with the perpetrators not identified.

The Kremlin blames Kyiv for the attacks, which it denies, given the impending large-scale offensive by Ukrainian armed forces and the large celebrations in Russia on May 9, the day of victory over Hitler in 1945.

___

  • Follow the latest events of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro