A UAV on Saturday struck the naval command center for Russia’s Black Sea Navy in the seized Crimea of Ukraine, according to a Russian official.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the administrator of Sevastopol appointed by Moscow, used Telegram to verify the attack and claimed a drone had fallen into the building’s roof.
No known casualties occurred
The drone “flew through the top” of the structure, according to Razvozhayev, who also added Russian soldiers had been unable to stop the hit.
A half-hour later, he changed his remarks on the social networking site to reflect the drones had been gunned down “directly above the fleet’s command center. It crashed on the top and started burning.”
Whether the drone was gunned dead or not is still unknown, but a video released online shows black smoke rising over the structure.
Oleg Kryuchkov, a Russian officer in Crimea, also posted on Telegram to tell people there to “stay calm” while “attacks by tiny drones continue” all over Crimea.
🇺🇦💥Directly into the hatch of the #Russian T-72B3.#Ukraine #UkraineWar #UkrainianArmy #UkraineRussiaWar #Ukrainians #UkraineRussianWar #UkraineWillWin pic.twitter.com/LfEw8dyLiy
— 🇺🇦Ukraine News Live🇺🇦 (@UkraineNewsLive) August 17, 2022
According to a Reuters story, Western sources estimated last week that half of the fleet’s naval combat planes are out of action. This is one of the numerous losses experienced by Russia’s naval might in Crimea in recent months.
Earlier this month, there were many blasts at the Novofedorivka airstrip, which is located on the western shore of Crimea about 60 miles north of Sevastopol.
Russia made an effort to minimize the explosions by saying the munitions inadvertently exploded at the airstrip, but at least nine jets were destroyed. Pictures of the incident, however, could imply that a missile attack caused it.
The unidentified Western spokesperson told reporters that Ukraine was experiencing “kinetic impacts” behind Russian lines and this was “having a huge psychological impact on the Russian government.”
The U.K. Defense Department judged on Saturday that neither Russia nor Ukraine achieved significant progress this week; authorities do not anticipate any significant improvements in the coming weeks.
According to the ministry’s briefing, “Russian forces are, as of now, likely only prepared to launch modest local attacks, seldom comprising more than a battalion of troops.”
The impetus will, however, shift over the upcoming months to whichever side is able to muster a viable, dedicated army for combat operations.
🇹🇼 Taiwan donates 800 combat drones (Revolver 860) to 🇺🇦Ukraine.#Russian #Rusia #Ukraine #ukraina #UkraineWar #UkraineRussiaWar pic.twitter.com/cqJwKTTSHs
— Tempo Dolok (@infussambas) August 17, 2022
Nuclear Disaster
As worries about a potential nuclear disaster continue to grow, Ukraine’s nuclear power authority Energoatom issued a warning on Friday, claiming it thinks Russia is attempting to shut off the Zaporizhzhia reactor from the country’s power system.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station is under Russian control until March; although operations have continued to be overseen by Ukrainian authorities since Europe’s largest nuclear facility is still under threat from shelling and warfare.
Energoatom commented in a statement on Friday, originally reported by Reuters:
“There is evidence that Russian-occupying troops are going to shut down the power blocks and separate them from the energy supply routes to the Ukrainian power system within the near future.”
