Ukrainian drone shot down near airport in Crimea
Mr. Mikhail Razvozzhaev, Mayor of Sevastopol - the largest city of Crimea, announced on August 18 that the Russian air defense system shot down a Ukrainian drone in the vicinity of Crimea's Belbek airport.
“According to preliminary data, an unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by air defense systems in the vicinity of the Belbek airport,” Mikhail Razvozzhaev said in a statement posted on Telegram. The official added that the incident did not cause any casualties or damage to facilities.
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Belbek Airport in Sevastopol. Photo: Sputnik |
Although the drone attack was foiled, Mikhail Razvozzhaev noted that pro-Ukrainian groups had begun spreading messages about a “successful” attack on Crimea on social media. Razvozzhaev urged Sevastopol residents to remain calm and trust only official sources of information.
Earlier, Reuters quoted witnesses as saying there were at least four explosions in Sevastopol. Ukrainian journalist Anatoly Shariy wrote on Telegram that some of the explosions were so loud that people 10 kilometers away from the airport could hear them. Russia has used Belbek airport on the Crimean peninsula since annexing the region in 2014./.