Kremlin sees ‘risk’ of Ukraine attacks on Crimea

The Kremlin said Thursday that the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula was vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks after officials said they had shot down a drone near a key naval base.

The latest drone attack comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin recently visited the only bridge connecting Crimea with the Russian mainland to survey work to repair the key artery damaged in a blast Moscow blamed on Kiyv.

“There are certainly risks because the Ukrainian side continues its policy of organising terrorist attacks. But, on the other hand, information we get indicates that effective countermeasures are being taken,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said last month that Russia was strengthening fortifications on the peninsula in the wake of recent attacks.

The governors of two Russian regions bordering Ukraine have said they inspected the construction of defence lines days after Ukrainian drones struck key military airfields.

In the latest incident over Crimea on Thursday, Russia said it had shot down a drone over the Black Sea near Sevastopol, the largest city on the Crimean peninsula that hosts a key Russian naval base. “As per usual our military carried out its work well,” said the governor of the Sevastopol administrative region, Mikhail Razvozhayev. 
Moscow (AFP), 8 Dec, 2022 – 

The peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014 after a so-called referendum that Ukraine and the West never recognised.