Russia Says It Destroyed Ukraine's Naval Drones Targeting Crimean Bridge, 2 Killed In Shelling

According to Russia's Defence Ministry, one naval drone was destroyed late Friday and two more were destroyed early Saturday morning.

The Kerch bridge, a vital supply line for Kremlin forces in Ukraine, has been repeatedly attacked since Russia started its full-scale invasion.

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Russia stated Saturday that its forces destroyed three Ukrainian naval drones used in an attempt to strike a vital bridge connecting Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea, forcing the crossing to close for the third time in less than a year, news agency Associated Press (AP) reported. According to Russia's Defence Ministry, one naval drone was destroyed late Friday and two more were destroyed early Saturday morning. Ukrainian officials did not respond immediately. The Kerch bridge, a vital supply line for Kremlin forces in Ukraine, has been repeatedly attacked since Russia started its full-scale invasion.

Three persons were killed in an October blast that Russian police stated was triggered by a truck bomb. A further attack on the bridge in July, which killed a couple and critically injured their daughter, left a section of the roadway precariously hanging.

The bridge between Crimea and Russia is strategically and psychologically important for Moscow, serving as a vital route for military and civilian supplies as well as an expression of Kremlin dominance over the peninsula it annexed in 2014.

According to Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, one civilian was killed and two were injured during shelling of Russia's Belgorod district bordering Ukraine on Saturday afternoon. Two Ukrainian drones targeted the Valuysky area of the region, inflicting minor damage to a private residence and automobile, while another was intercepted by Russian air defence in the Grayvoronsky district.

According to regional Gov. Roman Starovoit, a lady was also injured Saturday amid shelling of a village in the neighbouring Kursk district, which also borders Ukraine. He blamed the shelling on Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials, who normally avoid commenting on strikes on Russian land, did not indicate whether the attacks were carried out by them. Drone strikes and shelling in Russian border regions are commonplace.

Meanwhile, four persons were injured in the Ukrainian bombardment of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, according to Aleksei Kulemzin, the city's Moscow-installed mayor. Donetsk is the regional capital of the same-named eastern Ukrainian province, one of four Ukrainian regions unlawfully invaded by Russia in September. In 2014, Russia-backed rebels took control of the city.

The Ukrainian military stated in a daily report Saturday that Russia had launched four missile strikes and 39 airstrikes in the previous 24 hours, in addition to 42 attacks from multiple rocket launchers.

According to Governor Oleh Prokudin, one person was killed and two were injured amid shelling in Ukraine's southern Kherson district on Saturday. Further north, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul of Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stated the city's anti-aircraft defence had successfully prevented an attack, without describing the nature of the attack.

According to military authorities in the United Kingdom, Russia risks separating its forces in an attempt to prevent a Ukrainian breakthrough in Ukraine's south. Ukrainian forces continued to launch offensive operations on the Orikhiv axis in southern Ukraine, according to British intelligence, with units approaching the first Russian major defensive line.

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar claimed on Friday that Kiev's soldiers were making progress in Zaporizhzhia.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would host Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks next week, little over six weeks after Moscow mediated an agreement brokered by Ankara and the United Nations that allowed Ukrainian grain to reach international markets safely despite the 18-month war.

Putin and Erdogan will meet Monday at Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.