South Front
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Early morning of April 24, two Ukrainian naval drones targeted the Russian city of Sevastopol.The drones attempted to strike at the Russian Black Sea Fleet stationed in the city bay.
At least two loud explosions were heard in the city. The attack took place at 3.30 a.m. Moscow time.
According to the governor of Sevastopol, one of the naval drones was destroyed by the anti-submarine/sabotage defense forces and the second one blew up on its own. The Black Sea Fleet repelled the night attack, all services are in full readiness in the city.
The attack failed. The Russian Black Sea fleet suffered no damage. The city bay was closed and there is no movement of ships.
Footage shared by the locals confirmed the destruction of at least one drone.
The city of Sevastopol, including the Black Sea Fleet, is targeted by foreign naval drons and UAVs on a regular basis. At the same time, other cities of the Crimean peninsula are targeted by Ukrainian missiles.
On April 22, Ukrainian forces tried to hit the town of Armyansk in the north of the peninsula with the “Olkha” multiple rocket launcher system at a distance of about 100 km. All the shells were shot down by Russian air defense forces.
The Grom-2 launcher during a military parade in honor of the Independence Day of Ukraine in 2018.
On the morning of April 22, Ukrainian forces targeted the peninsula with the Operational-Tactical Missile System Hrim 2 (or Grom-2). Ukrainian short-range ballistic missile was shot down by Russian forces over the Sea of Azov near the eastern city of Kerch. The attack resulted in no damage. The wreckage fell in the sea.
The same complex was already used by the Ukrainian military to struck Crimea. On April 8, another missile was intercepted near Feodosya and on March 29, another one was shot down near the town of Gvardeiskoe.
The first two attacks were carried out from the town of Tuzly in the Ukrainian Odessa region. However, the third strike was carried out from the city of Zaporozhie at the distance of about 300 km, which is the maximum range of the system. On April 24, the local authorities in the Russian Zaporozhie region confirmed that the AFU had transferred the Operational-Tactical Missile System Hrim 2 to city of Zaporozhye. From there, Ukrainian short-range ballistic missiles may reach the Russian border regions and the DPR.
This is a clear sign that the Zaporozhie region may become the main direction of the upcoming Ukrainian offensive, which will be accompanied by massive strikes on the Russian territory, including on the Crimean peninsula.
The ongoing attempts to hit Russian military and civilian facilities in the city of Sevastopol in the west of the peninsula, in the northern region, like Armyansk and Dzhankoy, where the strategically important railway node is located, as well as in the eastern part of Crimea, for example, in Kerch, where the Crimean Bridge begins, are aimed to probe the Russian Air Defence Forces on the eve of the upcoming offensive operations and put pressure on the local pro-Russian population.
