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.



Italy Says No US Extradition Request for Detained Iranian Businessman So Far

A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)
A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)
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Italy Says No US Extradition Request for Detained Iranian Businessman So Far

A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)
A seagull stands in front of an Italian flag flying at half-mast on the Altare della Patri-Vittorio Emanuele II monument in Rome, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (AFP Photo)

The United States has not submitted any formal request of extradition for an Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini detained in Milan, Italy's justice minister said in an interview published on Thursday.
"The matter of Abedini is purely legal ... regardless of the (freeing of Italian journalist) Cecilia Sala. It is premature to talk of extradition, also because no formal request has been sent to our ministry so far," Justice Minister Carlo Nordio told daily La Stampa.
Abedini is wanted by the United States on suspicion of involvement in a drone strike against US forces in Jordan. Iran has denied involvement and said last week the detention of the Iranian national amounted to hostage-taking.
His arrest has been linked to the detention three days later of Italian reporter Cecilia Sala, who was seized in Tehran on Dec. 19 while working under a regular journalistic visa and freed on Jan. 8.