Moscow, Aug 25 (IANS): The Russian Defence Ministry on Friday claimed to have destroyed 42 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, the latest in a series of recent reported attacks by Kiev on the occupied Peninsula.
In a social media post, the Ministry said that nine of the drones were shot down and the remaining 33 were jammed by electronic warfare equipment and crashed without reaching their targets, CNN reported.
“Overnight, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles on Russian Federation territory has been thwarted,” the post added.
The Ministry also claimed that Ukraine had launched an upgraded S-200 air defence complex missile that was detected and shot down by Russian forces over the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow.
Ukraine is yet to comment on the developments.
Russia's claims came a day after Ukraine carried out what appeared to be one of its most complex and ambitious operations to date against Russian military facilities in Crimea, involving Ukrainian special forces landing on the western shore of the peninsula to attack Russian units.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly vowed to restore Kiev's rule in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks in the area, including the key Kerch Bridge that links the peninsula to mainland Russia.