Russian air defense repelling missile attack over Crimea: Authorities

The Russian-installed head of Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea on Monday said air defense forces were fending off an aerial attack over the peninsula.

“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.

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Ukraine has targeted Crimea throughout Russia’s offensive but attacks on military installations there have recently intensified as Kyiv vows to recapture the peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

Authorities had declared an air raid alert across the region, Razvozhayev said on Telegram at 8:57 pm (1757 GMT).

About an hour later, Razvozhayev announced the air raid alert was over on Telegram.

Russian air defenses also saw action in the region of Belgorod bordering Ukraine, over which seven Ukrainian drones were destroyed, the Russian defense ministry wrote on Telegram.

A preliminary account suggested there were no casualties in Belgorod, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Attacks on Russian territory, which were rare at the beginning of the offensive, have intensified in recent months, with Kyiv increasingly claiming responsibility.

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