Kyiv

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Russia said on Monday (September 25) that its air defence forces shot down a missile over Russian-annexed Crimea. "Our military is repelling a missile attack. According to preliminary data, air defence shot down one missile near the Belbek airfield. Work continues," Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram. 

Razvozhayev said that authorities declared an air raid alert across the region at 8.57 pm (1757 GMT). About an hour later, the governor announced the air raid alert was over. 

Ukraine has targeted Crimea throughout Russia's offensive but attacks on military installations there have recently intensified. 

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Russian air strikes kill 4 in Ukraine; grain facilities damaged

The above development comes as Russian air strikes on Monday killed four people in Ukraine and caused significant damage to infrastructure at the Black Sea port of Odesa and to grain storage facilities. Sharing a post on X, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said, "Another massive attack on Odesa. The attack resulted in the destruction of grain storage facilities and significant damage to the seaport."

According to a report by the news agency Reuters early Tuesday, Odesa region Governor Oleh Kiper said the facilities that were hit contained almost 1,000 tonnes of grain and that the bodies of two men were found under the rubble of a warehouse. 

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Separately, Ukrainian officials said that two more people were killed in a separate air strike on the town of Beryslav in the southern Kherson region. 

Air attacks intensified

Monday's air strikes were part of a campaign that has made it harder for major grain producer Ukraine to export its products since Moscow quit a deal in mid-July. Reuters reported that the strikes have intensified as Ukraine presses on with a counteroffensive in the south and east that has made slow gains. 

However, the counteroffensive can see a boost as President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the United States delivered Abrams tanks to Ukraine. "Abrams are already in Ukraine and are preparing to reinforce our brigades," Zelensky said in a post on social media.

He did not elaborate on how many tanks arrived or how much time would be required to deploy them to the front line. 

The announcement came just after Ukraine claimed it had killed the commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet in a missile strike on Moscow's naval headquarters in Crimea last week in what would be a major embarrassment for Russia.

(With inputs from agencies)

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