NNA – Russia said on Wednesday, August 30, its forces destroyed four Ukrainian military boats carrying up to 50 soldiers in the Black Sea as authorities reported drone attacks from southern Crimea to near the Estonian border. Both Ukraine and Russia have ramped up activity around the Black Sea after a United Nations-brokered deal to ensure safe navigation for grain ships collapsed last month.
An aircraft quot;destroyed four high-speed military boatsquot; around midnight Moscow time (21:00 GMT), the Russian defense ministry wrote on Telegram. The boats had been carrying quot;landing groups of Ukrainian special operations forces with a total number of up to 50 people,quot; the ministry said. It did not give details on exactly where in the Black Sea the incident took place.
Early Wednesday, Russian defenses repelled a quot;seaborne drone attack nearquot; Sevastopol Bay in Crimea, the local Moscow-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev was cited as saying by TASS. Sevastopol is the base of Russia#39;s Black Sea fleet. quot;Anti-submarine… forces have completed their work,quot; Razvozhayev said, without giving details.
In recent weeks, Kyiv has attacked Russian ships in its waters and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. Last week, Ukraine said its forces had flown the country#39;s flag in Russian-annexed Crimea during a quot;special operationquot; to mark its second wartime Independence Day.
Moscow#39;s defense ministry also said last week that one of its jets destroyed a Ukrainian quot;reconnaissance boatquot; near Russian gas production facilities in the Black Sea. It later said it destroyed a US-made speedboat carrying Ukrainian troops east of Snake Island, without providing further detail.–agenciesnbsp;
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