Russia says repelled Ukrainian attack on naval base

MOSCOW

Russia said on Friday that its warships repelled an attack on the Novorossiysk naval base, located in the south of the country, by two Ukrainian unmanned boats.

“Last night, the armed forces of Ukraine attempted to attack the Novorossiysk naval base with two unmanned sea boats,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that the boats were detected and destroyed by Russian warships guarding the naval base.

Also, 10 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down and three jammed over the Crimean Peninsula last night, the ministry noted.

The number of drone attacks on Russian territory has dramatically increased in recent months. Initially, only unmanned aerial vehicles were used, but in recent weeks, the use of unmanned boats also became widespread.

Although Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for these attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said attacks on Russian territory are an “inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.”