Russian authorities on Monday announced a suspension of shipping in waters off the city of Sevastopol, located on the Crimean peninsula — annexed in 2014 — hours after air defense systems shot down two drones launched by Ukrainian forces against the city, although they have not confirmed whether there is a link.
The Directorate for Transport Infrastructure Development has said that »passenger shipping is suspended,» without specifying the reasons, before noting that a land route has been activated to cover the affected transport, as picked up by Russian news agency Interfax.
Hours earlier, the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, had indicated via his Telegram account that two drones had been intercepted at around 3.30 a.m. (local time). »According to available data, one of them was destroyed and the other exploded on its own. It all happened on an external road, there is no damage,» he noted.
UK intelligence services said in late March that drone attacks on the Russian base in the Crimean peninsula city of Sevastopol are »limiting» the Black Sea Fleet’s operations.
Sevastopol, due to its strategic location and hosting the main base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has been the target of several Ukrainian drone attacks. A »yellow» level of alert has been in place in Crimea since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
