🔴Live: Russia says it destroyed Ukrainian reconnaissance boat in the Black Sea

Issued on: 22/08/2023 – 07:20Modified: 22/08/2023 – 07:24

2 min

5:38am: Russia says jet ‘destroyed’ Ukrainian reconnaissance boat in Black Sea

Russia’s defence ministry said early Tuesday one of its Sukhoi jets had “destroyed” a Ukrainian “reconnaissance boat” in the Black Sea.

“Tonight, the crew of the Su-30cm naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed a reconnaissance boat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of Russian gas production facilities in the Black Sea,” the ministry said on Telegram.

The statement did not give details on what kind of boat had been destroyed, or where exactly the incident had taken place.

Russian officials have said they have thwarted a string of Ukrainian marine drone attacks on its warships in the Black Sea.

On Thursday evening, ships of the Russian fleet were targeted by a Ukrainian naval drone attack, according to Moscow’s defence ministry.

2:58am: Russia downs two drones near Moscow

Russian air defences downed two attack drones near Moscow, the city’s mayor said on Tuesday, in the fifth consecutive night of strikes on the capital region.

“Air defence shot down two attack drones. One in the Krasnogorsk area, the other in the Chastsy area,” said Sergei Sobyanin on Telegram, adding that emergency services were responding.

He did not give details on damage or casualties.

Unverified video posted on social media purporting to show the aftermath of a strike in Krasnogorsk showed dozens of people gathered in a street lined by high-rise buildings.

Video published by the RIA Novosti news agency showed debris littering the ground in Krasnogorsk, including what its correspondent said were fragments of a drone.

The facade and windows of a 25-storey building were damaged as well as a number of cars parked nearby, they said.

The area had been cordoned off.

Key developments from Monday, August 21:

Ukraine said it had recaptured another three square kilometres around the war-battered town of Bakhmut, but had made no major advances on the southern front.

Greece announced it will take part in the training of Ukrainian air force pilots for the F-16 jets that Denmark and the Netherlands are set to supply the country.

Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)