Ukraine strikes Crimean peninsula with over 10 drones in overnight attack

The situation in the Russia-Ukraine war continues to remain tense as a Russian-installed official said early on Sunday that Ukraine struck the Crimean Peninsula overnight with over 10 drones, reported Reuters.

As per reports, three of these drones hit the port of Sevastopol. The official added that Sevastopol's air defence systems were able to successfully thwart all of the strikes.

"No objects (in Sevastopol) were damaged," the Moscow-installed Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram.

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No damages from the attacks were reported from elsewhere on the Crimean Peninsula. Crimea was seized by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. Russian forces launched a major military offensive into Ukraine, which included significant advances into Ukrainian territory. The offensive was characterized by intense fighting, and many civilians were displaced from their homes.

The war in Eastern Europe is entering a significant phase with Ukraine's spring offensive. With this, there are significant stakes for war.

According to preliminary information, there were no injuries reported following Ukraine's drone strikes on Crimea. Telegram channel Baza, which has connections to Russian law enforcement, claimed the incident to be a series of strikes on Crimea earlier on Sunday.

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Explosions took place in Sevastopol and Saki, where Russia has an air base. A few other places also came under attack, as per Ukrainian Telegram channels.

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The last two weeks have seen an increase in attacks against Russian-controlled locations, particularly in Crimea. Without denying any involvement in the strikes, Ukraine claims that destroying infrastructure is a prelude to its upcoming ground offensive.

For months, the war's most severe combat has been taking place in the battle for Bakhmut. Russia views this as a crucial battlefield to advance to other cities in eastern Ukraine's Donbas area.

Thousands of lives have reportedly been lost on both sides during this battle. Despite being driven back in recent weeks, Ukrainian forces were still able to maintain some degree of control over the region while dealing as much damage as they could to both regular Russian soldiers and soldiers from the Wagner mercenary group.

The Wagner group, which has led the charge in the conflict to seize Bakhmut, has declared it will leave the area on 10th May. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner Group, stated in a statement on Friday that the retreat was because of a shortage of ammunition supply.

Chechen leader and a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, said his forces are ready to replace Wagner Group mercenaries in Bakhmut.

Kadyrov is a former militia leader who fought against Russian forces during the First Chechen War in the 1990s. However, he later switched sides and became a loyal supporter of the Russian government when he abandoned Chechnya's separatist movement.

(Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.)

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