“The drone was shot down right over the fleet headquarters, it fell on the roof and caught fire,” Mikhail Razvojayev wrote on Telegram. The incident “did not cause any serious damage” or injuries, he said, blaming Ukrainian forces for the attack.
This is the second drone attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol in less than a month. On July 31, a drone landed in the courtyard of the Fleet Headquarters, injuring five of its employees and causing the cancellation of all scheduled Russian Fleet Day celebrations celebrated on that day.
Attempted attack in Mariupol
This new attack comes as explosions and attacks on Russian military infrastructure in Crimea mount. Russian forces shot down a drone near a military airfield in Sevastopol on Thursday evening. Explosions occurred at a military base and ammunition depot in Crimea on Tuesday, which Russia described as an “act of sabotage”.
In early August, an explosion of military aviation ammunition near the Saki airbase in Crimea left one dead and several injured.
Also on Saturday, according to Russian news agencies, Konstantin Ivashchenko, who was appointed mayor of the port city of Mariupol (southeast), which was conquered by Russia after several months of siege, by pro-Russian forces, was the victim of an assassination.