Ukraine strikes cut power and water in occupied Crimea as UK and France train together
A Ukrainian attack left parts of occupied Crimea without water and electricity, while thousands of British and French troops completed a seven-week Nato-linked exercise in Germany.
A Ukrainian attack caused water and power cuts in occupied Crimea on Saturday, Russian authorities said, as a wave of drones over several Russian regions also left people dead. Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of the peninsula, wrote on Telegram that drone strikes on local power grids had led to "restrictions on the supply of electricity and water". He did not say how many households were affected in Crimea, which is home to more than 2.5 million people.
Crimea was seized from Ukraine by Russia in 2014 and is a regular target for Ukrainian attacks. Separately, Moscow-backed authorities said a Ukrainian strike in a part of the north-eastern Kharkiv region held by Russia killed at least three people and gravely wounded another on Saturday.
Russia's defence ministry said 616 drones had been shot down overnight across more than 20 regions of the country. During the day, drones hit Russia's south-western Bryansk border region, killing at least three people, according to the regional acting governor, Yegor Kovalchuc, who posted on Telegram.
In Ukraine, authorities said at least five people died in several Russian drone and missile strikes in the east. Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha said three people were killed and at least 12 wounded when a Russian drone hit the town of Synelnykove, setting fire to the fourth floor of a high-rise building. In Sumy, authorities said a Russian drone hit a farm, killing a 31-year-old woman and injuring four others.
Away from the front, thousands of British and French troops took part in a military training exercise that included one of Britain's largest airborne operations in two decades, the UK government said on Sunday. The war game is designed to show how Nato countries could be defended against a modern attack, at a time of fears about Russian aggression in Europe linked to Moscow's war against Ukraine.
About 2,500 troops were involved in the seven-week exercise, in which 600 British and French paratroopers jumped from four RAF A400M Atlas transport aircraft over Germany. Called Rhino Titan and held at the Sennelager military training centre, it has tested British troops against an enemy equipped with drones and electronic warfare.
British defence minister Wes Streeting said in a statement: « The threats we face in the 21st century require an updated, modern approach to warfare – and our adaptable armed forces are preparing accordingly. »
Elsewhere, Ukraine's government said its military had a « stable connection to Starlink », ten days after its ability to use the satellite communications system was suddenly restricted. Hours later, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk, whose company owns Starlink, accused the Ukrainian military of violating the company's terms. Neither Musk nor the US government, which operates Starshield using Starlink technology, took responsibility for imposing the curbs.
Bulgarians were also due to vote in presidential elections on Sunday, as Russia's war in Ukraine spreads to waters off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. Polls put acting president Iliana Iotova and former caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov in the lead in a field of 27 candidates. While the presidency is largely ceremonial, the vote has taken on added significance after a series of drone attacks on merchant ships off the coast, which likely killed about two dozen international seafarers.
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