Islam Times - Six People Injured in Ukraine Drone Attack on Russian HQ in Crimea: Moscow

Islam Times - Moscow says a drone attack by the Ukrainian military has wounded six people at the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Crimea, prompting Russian officials to cancel planned festivities there.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the head of the local Russian administration in the city of Sevastopol in Crimea, said the drone attack on Sunday hit the navy command in the city, forcing the cancellation in the city of festivities marking Russia’s annual holiday celebrating the Navy Day.

“Early this morning, [Ukraine] decided to spoil our Navy Day. An unidentified object flew into the yard of the fleet headquarters, according to preliminary data, it was a drone,” the governor said.

“There were no fatalities, six people were injured, two in moderate condition, the rest are in stable condition,” Razvozhayev further said, adding that the victims were employees of the fleet headquarters.

“All celebrations have been cancelled for security reasons,” said the Russian official, urging people to “remain calm and stay home if possible.”

Earlier, the press service of the fleet, according to TASS, reported that a low-power explosive device mounted on a makeshift drone went off on the territory of the headquarters.

Navy Day is an annual Russian holiday during which its fleets carry out naval parades and honor its sailors.

Separately, Olga Kovitidi, a senator from the Republic of Crimea, denounced the incident as terrorist attack.

“The incident that occurred in Sevastopol is a terrorist act. FSB (Federal Security Service) officers are working on the spot, until the conclusion of law enforcement agencies, not a single sane person can say where and how this strike was made. The drone attack will be given an appropriate assessment with certain conclusions,” she told TASS.

The senator also said all the victims of the explosion had received the necessary medical assistance and that nothing threatened their lives.

Back in 2014, the then Ukrainian territory of Crimea voted in a referendum to fall under Russian sovereignty. The United States and the European Union backed Kiev and refused to recognize the referendum results and slammed the move as annexation. Later, they imposed sanctions on Moscow, which strongly denied the allegation.