Massive Drone Attack On Black Sea Fleet - Russia

Massive Drone Attack On Black Sea Fleet - Russia 

According to Russia, Ukraine launched a "massive" drone strike on the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, destroying one warship.

According to a senior official, nine drones were utilized. Ukraine has not responded.

Russia claimed British troops were engaged in Saturday's attack and smashing up gas pipes last month without offering evidence.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) responded by saying Russia was "promulgating epic-scale baseless claims."

Russia said the ships attacked in Saturday's attack were part of an international agreement to enable grain shipments from Ukrainian ports, but it subsequently declared that it was withdrawing from it.

The offensive comes as Ukrainian forces effectively regain land held by Russian troops since their war began on February 24.

Russia's response has been to execute large-scale strikes against Ukrainian assets, notably the country's electricity grid.

Crimea, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014, is very significant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Several strikes have occurred in recent weeks on the peninsula, where the Russian army has established a strong presence.

Sevastopol is the region's central city and home to Russia's Black Sea navy.

The city's Military governor, Mikhail Razvozhaev, claimed Russia's navy had repulsed the latest bombardment, the "most significant" on the city since February.

He claimed that no "civilian infrastructure" had been destroyed and that all unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had been shot dead.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, at least one warship suffered minor damage.

"While defending against a terrorist attack on Sevastopol's outer roadstead, the Black Sea Fleet used naval weaponry and naval planes to destroy four marine unmanned vehicles, while three additional devices were damaged on the internal roadstead," the ministry said in a statement.

Although top officials frequently praise happenings in the peninsula, the Ukrainian government seldom relies on statements made by Russian authorities in Crimea.

Ukraine has threatened to reclaim all land occupied by Russia, including Crimea, which served as a vital base for President Putin's army during Ukraine's invasion.

The Russian defense ministry also blamed British navy experts for assisting Ukrainian forces in preparing for the assault on Saturday morning, without offering any evidence.

The same team was also "engaged in preparing, organizing, and carrying out the terrorist assault in the Baltic Sea on September 26th this year to blast the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines."

"To divert attention away from their terrible management of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russia's Ministry of Defence has resorted to disseminating epic-scale fake allegations," the MoD claimed.

This fabricated tale reveals more about internal Russian government debates than it does about the West.

Russia has been involved in what US and Ukrainian authorities describe as a misinformation campaign in recent days, with unfounded assertions that Kyiv is planning to deploy a radioactive dirty bomb or even pathogenic mosquitoes.

Russia has also alleged that the ships targeted on Saturday morning were part of an international campaign to transport agricultural products from Ukrainian ports known as the "grain corridor."

The deal, mediated by the United Nations and Turkey, allowed Ukraine to continue Black Sea grain shipments, which had been halted following Russia's invasion of the nation. The UN secretary general personally negotiated it, and it was regarded as a huge diplomatic achievement that helped alleviate a worldwide food crisis.

However, Russia claims that its own exports are still hampered and has already stated that it may not renew the agreement.

In recent days, Kyiv has blamed Moscow for purposely delaying ship clearance, resulting in a line of over 170 boats.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet was previously targeted by Ukrainian forces in April of this year, when its commander, the cruiser Moskva, was destroyed. The loss of the 510-crew missile cruiser, which had led Russia's naval attack on Ukraine, was a tremendous symbolic and military setback.

A bomb happened earlier this month on the Crimean bridge, a key symbol of Russia's invasion of Crimea.

According to Russian investigators, the bomb killed three persons.

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