The continuation of the drone war between Moscow and Kyiv and Russian maneuvers of the Northern Fleet

  Moscow and Kyiv said that they were able to thwart several drone attacks, and while Russian forces confirmed the reinforcement of their positions in northeastern Ukraine, air defense systems were activated in the skies of Crimea.

Russian news agencies quoted the Ministry of Defense as saying that Russia destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones after they were launched over the Crimean peninsula in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The agency quoted the ministry as saying that the Russian air defense systems shot down 14 drones, while the electronic warfare system neutralized 6 aircraft.

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the news from independent sources.

In response to these developments, the advisor to the President of the Republic of Crimea, Oleg Kryuchkov, announced today, Saturday, the activation of air defense systems over various regions of the Crimean peninsula, according to what was reported by the Russian agency Sputnik.

"Air defense systems have been activated over various regions of Crimea. Please remain calm and trust only reliable sources of information," Kryuchkov said on his channel on the "Telegram" application.

This comes after the Russian authorities suspended, earlier today, traffic across the Crimean Bridge, then resumed movement shortly after the suspension, and the officers asked the citizens in their vehicles on the bridge to remain calm and follow the instructions of the transportation security staff.

For his part, the Russian governor of Kaluga said that the air defenses shot down a drone last night in the Djerzhinsky region, without causing any casualties.

As the Russian governor of Belgorod said, two Ukrainian drones were shot down, without causing any injuries.

This comes while the Ukrainian Air Force said that its defenses shot down 3 drones in Zaporizhia out of 5 that attacked the country during the past night.

In the latest developments on the Ukrainian side, the Minister of Interior said that a policeman was killed and 12 wounded, including 4 officers, in a Russian bombing targeting the Orekhov region in Zaporizhia.

For its part, the Ukrainian General Staff said that the Russian forces targeted its territory during the past 24 hours with 5 winged missiles and 31 raids.

Russian forces confirmed the reinforcement of their positions in northeastern Ukraine and announced that they targeted the western part of the country with missiles.

In this context, the spokesman for the Southern Forces in the Russian army, Vadim Astafiev, said that warplanes targeted sites of Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and attacked a training center for foreign volunteers in Lugansk.

In related developments, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Minister Sergei Shoigu had inspected remote garrisons of the Northern Fleet in the Arctic.

The ministry published a video that it said was of the tour by the Russian minister, noting that he was briefed on the organization of the service and the progress of carrying out the tasks assigned to the special units deployed in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, and their preparations to work to protect and defend vital sites.

Shoigu also inspected the readiness of social infrastructure facilities in the village of Belushia Guba in the same district.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the launch of exercises for the Northern Fleet forces in the Russian army. The ministry stated that the activities are part of the annual exercises of the fleet forces, in which more than 8,000 soldiers, 20 warships, submarines, and support vessels participate.

According to the ministry, the exercises include carrying out special operations to isolate areas of operations and surrounding and destroying sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The ministry said that part of the coastal forces will be deployed to protect and defend northern sea route communications and essential sites.

Source: Agencies