Ukrainian drone attack cuts off power in Crimea

Drone raids by Ukraine on Crimea over Thursday night and Friday morning. Pics/X

A massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea early Friday caused power cut-offs in the city of Sevastopol and set a refinery ablaze in southern Russia, Russian authorities said.

The drone raids marked Kyiv's attempt to strike back during Moscow's offensive in northeastern Ukraine, which has added to the pressure on outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces who are waiting for delayed deliveries of crucial weapons and ammunition from Western partners.

The Russian Defence Ministry said air defences downed 51 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, another 44 over the Krasnodar region and six over the Belgorod region. It said Russian warplanes and patrol boats also destroyed six sea drones in the Black Sea.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, which is the main base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, said the drone attack damaged the city's power plant. He said it could take a day to fully restore energy supplies and warned residents that power would be cut to parts of the city.

"Communal services are doing their best to restore the power system as quickly as possible," he said in a statement.Razvozhayev also announced that schools in the city would be closed temporarily.

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