The authorities of Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014, announced today that they prevented Ukrainian attacks on Sevastopol and the area around that large port used by the Russian fleet.
According to the governor of Sevastopol, Mihail Razvozhaev, Ukrainian forces targeted the city with rockets, and drones targeted the two neighboring towns of Kachu and Verkhnesadovoye.
All targets were shot down in the air by anti-aircraft defense, Razvožaev wrote via Telegram.
"Everything is calm in the city. Now information is being clarified about possible damages caused by fallen pieces of downed rockets, or possible casualties," he said.
The fall of the drones caused a small fire in two places near Sevastopol, but there were no casualties, the governor added.
On the Ukrainian side, Adriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said that Ukrainian forces continue to target "military targets of the occupier" in Crimea.
Crimea, which has been under Moscow's control since 2014, is a regular target of Ukrainian attacks. In the attack on September 13, two ships that were under repair were damaged, and 24 people were injured at the naval construction site in Sevastopol.
(BETA)
Ukraine urgently needs counter-air defenses, including ammunition, spare parts and maintenance for existing Ukrainian systems, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg said the war, which is well into its second year, is a "war of attrition" but that there is no let-up given the gains Ukraine has made in a counter-offensive that began in June to try to retake territories occupied by Russian forces. .
"If we want an end to the war, if we want a just and lasting peace, then military support for Ukraine is the right way," Stoltenberg said in an interview in New York, where he is attending the annual United Nations General Assembly.
"There is an urgent need for air defense, not only new systems, but also ammunition, maintenance, spare parts... We see that air defense saves lives every day in Ukraine and we must maintain that system," he said, according to Al Jazeera.
(MINE)
During the night, Russia attacked an oil refinery in Kremenchuk in the central Poltava region of Ukraine, causing a fire, Governor Dmytro Lunyin said today, Reuters reports.
"Operation of the refinery has been temporarily stopped," he said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that there was no information on casualties.
"The Russians attacked the Poltava region several times last night. Our air defense system did a good job against the enemy's unmanned aerial vehicles (drones)," he said.
According to Reuters, Russia has repeatedly attacked the refinery since it attacked Ukraine last year.
Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 17 of the 24 drones that Russia launched into Ukraine overnight, the military said, reports Reuters, which states that it could not independently verify the report.
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