At least four people were killed in a new wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on Crimea, the Moscow-installed head of the Black Sea peninsula said on Thursday, while Ukraine claimed to have damaged a Russian coastguard vessel off the annexed territory.
Sergei Aksyonov said on Telegram that three people were killed and seven injured in the Crimean capital Simferopol. He later reported a fourth death and two additional injuries following a Ukrainian drone strike on a local commuter train.
Separately, the commander of Ukraine's drone forces, Robert Brovdi, said a Russian coastguard patrol vessel had been damaged off the coast of Crimea. He published a video on Facebook showing a nighttime drone flight that ended shortly before the apparent impact.
The claim could not be independently verified. Russia did not confirm the reported strike on the vessel, but the Russian military said it had repelled Ukrainian drone attacks over Crimea and the Black Sea.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 in violation of international law and has since used the peninsula as a key military hub in its war against Ukraine.
Kiev says its drone attacks are aimed primarily at disrupting Russian military logistics and supply routes. Ukraine has recently intensified strikes on transport links connecting Russia to Crimea.
The attacks have contributed to fuel shortages on the peninsula, where petrol and diesel have recently been rationed.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia's full-scale invasion for more than four years.
