Russia thwarted a Ukrainian marine drone attack on its warships in the Black Sea, its defence ministry said Thursday, the latest in a string of assaults on its fleet in the flashpoint waterway. Attacks from both sides have escalated in the Black Sea since Russia pulled out of a deal that had allowed safe export of Ukrainian grain through the shipping hub. Follow our live blog for all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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04:00am:Â Air defence destroys drone over Moscow, say Russian officials
Air defence forces downed a Ukrainian drone over Moscow on Friday, Russian officials said, the latest in a surge of aerial attacks targeting the capital.
Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine launched the attack at about 04:00 (0100 GMT) “using an unmanned aerial vehicle against objects located in Moscow and the Moscow region”.
“The UAV, after being exposed to air defence weapons, changed its flight path and fell on a non-residential building in the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment area of Moscow,” the ministry said on Telegram.
Moscow’s mayor said emergency services were on the scene, but that early reports indicated there were no casualties.
“The wreckage of the UAV fell in the area of the Expo Center, and did not cause significant damage to the building,” Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.
03:20am:Â Russia says thwarted Ukraine drone attack on Black Sea warships
Russia thwarted a Ukrainian marine drone attack on its warships in the Black Sea, its defence ministry said Thursday, the latest in a string of assaults on its fleet in the flashpoint waterway.
“Today at 22.55 (1955 GMT), the armed forces of Ukraine made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the ships of the Black Sea Fleet with an unmanned sea boat,” the ministry said in a statement.
 “The ships were performing the tasks of controlling navigation in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, 237 km (147 miles) southwest of Sevastopol.”
The ministry said the drone was destroyed by the Pytlivyi and Vasily Bykov patrol ships before it could reach its target.
Key developments from Thursday, August 17:
A civilian cargo ship sailing from Ukraine reached Istanbul on Thursday in defiance of a Moscow blockade that saw another ship come under attack from Russian military personnel.
Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country would need weapons from the West “until we have won” the war against Russia
Read yesterday’s liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
Source: France24
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