Russia downs 6 Ukrainian UAVs, jams 3 over Crimea
The head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, says Russian air defenses disabled a total of 9 drones over the region with no casualties reported due to the attack.
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Russian S-400 Triumf systems seen in Sevastopol, Crimea, Russia, January 13, 2018 (Sputnik)
Six unmanned aerial vehicles were downed by Russian air defenses while 3 others were jammed by electronic warfare equipment in Crimea, the head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov announced on Thursday.
"Nine UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were detected over the territory of the Republic of Crimea overnight and in the morning: six were shot down by air defenses and three were jammed and grounded by electronic warfare equipment," Aksenov stated on Telegram.
Windows were shattered as a result of the detonation of a drone in the village of Dokuchaev in the Krasnogvardeysky district, however, no casualties were reported, according to Aksenov.
Authorities requested residents to remain calm and rely on verified sources of information while emergency services were positioned in the area of the incident.
Previously on June 4, drone attacks on Crimea were also thwarted by Russian air defenses that successfully shot down five Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) overnight, as electronic systems jammed four others.
As Ukraine intensifies its counteroffensive on Russia, air defense systems have taken even greater prominence recently as Moscow looks to frustrate Kiev's forces.
On June 13, Russian Industry Minister Denis Manturov announced that for the first time ever, the Russian air defense complex S-350 Vityaz successfully destroyed a real air target during the war in Ukraine.
In a statement Manturov noted that "just recently, [Russian metallurgy and heavy machine-building] Obukhov Plant has announced that the S-350 Vityaz anti-aircraft missile system, hit a target in the area of the special operation [in Ukraine] in automatic mode for the first time in the world, using artificial intelligence without the participation of the human."
Russian air defense systems are presently the only systems in the world capable of neutralizing hypersonic missiles, the minister said before he reaffirmed that once again, they are exclusive to the Russian armed forces.
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