Russia Destroys Three Ukrainian Uncrewed Boats off Crimea 

Damaged boats at a sailing school, hit by debris of a downed drone in Odesa, Ukraine, 17 October 2023. (EPA)
Damaged boats at a sailing school, hit by debris of a downed drone in Odesa, Ukraine, 17 October 2023. (EPA)
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Russia Destroys Three Ukrainian Uncrewed Boats off Crimea 

Damaged boats at a sailing school, hit by debris of a downed drone in Odesa, Ukraine, 17 October 2023. (EPA)
Damaged boats at a sailing school, hit by debris of a downed drone in Odesa, Ukraine, 17 October 2023. (EPA)

Russian naval forces destroyed three uncrewed Ukraine-launched boats in the northern part of the Black Sea off the Crimean Peninsula, Russia's defense ministry said on Tuesday.

"Anti-sabotage missiles and bombs hit the area where the unmanned boats were detected," the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

It added that an anti-mining and an "anti-sabotage" operation was being carried out off Sevastopol port, which is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

It was not immediately clear whether the incident caused any casualties or damage.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.

Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Crimea since midsummer, trying to undermine Russia's efforts in the 20-month-long war. Russia seized and annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

In September, Kyiv said it damaged two naval vessels and struck Sevastopol's port infrastructure in what appeared to be the biggest attack of the war there.

The Kremlin uses Sevastopol and the Black See Fleet to project power into the Middle East and Mediterranean and - during the war in Ukraine - to impose a de facto blockade on Ukraine's seaborne food exports via the Turkish straits.



Over 12,300 Civilians Killed since Start of Ukraine War, UN says

A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
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Over 12,300 Civilians Killed since Start of Ukraine War, UN says

A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
A woman reacts at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine, December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

More than 12,300 civilians have been killed in the Ukraine war since Russia invaded nearly three years ago, a UN official said on Wednesday, noting higher casualties in recent months amid the use of drones, long-range missiles and glide bombs, according to Reuters.

"Russian armed forces intensified their operations to capture further territory in eastern Ukraine, with a severe impact on civilians in frontline areas, particularly in the Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions," Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement, referring to developments since September 2024.

"We are deeply concerned by the impacts on civilians of the increased use of drones and the use of new weapons," she added, referring in part to Russia's use of highly destructive guided bombs or glide bombs in residential areas.