On Sunday, a senior official in the Russian-occupied Crimea accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack ahead of the planned Navy Day celebrations, which resulted in five injuries and led to the postponement of the events.
The charge is levelled only hours before Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, is scheduled to attend Navy Day festivities in his hometown of St. Petersburg and approve Russia’s naval strategy as Moscow continues its military operation in Ukraine.
“An unidentified object flew into the courtyard of the fleet’s headquarters,” Mikhail Razvozhayev, governor of Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“According to preliminary information, it is a drone.”