Ukraine denied Sunday that it had struck the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea with a drone, an attack that injured six people according to Moscow, calling the Russian accusations “deliberate provocation.”
Russian accusations of “an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Russian fleet headquarters in Sevastopol” are “a deliberate provocation,” Sergii Brachuk, a spokesman for the Odessa regional administration, said in a video statement on Telegram.
“The liberation of occupied Ukrainian Crimea will happen in another, much more efficient way,” he added.
Celebrations are expected in Russia
“This morning, the Ukrainian nationalists decided to spoil the Day of the Russian Fleet” which is celebrated this Sunday in Russia, the governor of Sevastopol, a city on the annexed Crimean peninsula, Mikhail Razvojayev wrote on Telegram.
The number of casualties in the drone attack that targeted the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on Sunday rose from five to six wounded, according to the same source.
All festivities related to the Day of the Russian Fleet “have been canceled for security reasons,” Mikhail Razvojayev announced, asking Sevastopol residents not to leave their homes “if possible.”
Extensive celebrations are planned for this holiday across Russia, including a naval parade in Saint Petersburg (northwest), which will be overseen by President Vladimir Putin.
This is the first time Russian authorities have reported such an attack since the start of their offensive in Ukraine on February 24.
Source: BFM TV
