Russians down Ukrainian drones in Crimea as war broadens

Russian authorities reported shooting down Ukrainian drones Saturday in Crimea, while Ukrainian officials said Russian forces pressed ahead with efforts to seize one of the few cities in eastern Ukraine not already under their control. The Russian military also kept up its strikes in Ukraine's north and south.

In Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, Russian authorities said local air defenses shot down a drone above the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. It was the second drone incident at the headquarters in three weeks and followed explosions at a Russian airfield and ammunition depot on the peninsula this month.

Oleg Kryuchkov, an aide to Crimea's governor, also said Saturday that "attacks by small drones" triggered air-defense systems in western Crimea.

"Air defense systems successfully hit all targets over the territory over Crimea on Saturday morning. There are no casualties or material damage," his boss, Sergei Aksyonov, said on Telegram.

Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said on Telegram that the city's air-defense systems were called into action again late Saturday.

The incidents underlined Russian forces' vulnerability in Crimea. A drone attack on Russia's Black Sea naval headquarters on July 31 injured five people and forced the cancellation of observances of Russia's Navy Day. This week, a Russian ammunition depot in Crimea was hit by an explosion. Last week, nine Russian warplanes were reported destroyed at an airbase on Crimea.

Ukrainian authorities have stopped short of publicly claiming responsibility. But President Volodymyr Zelensky alluded to Ukrainian attacks behind enemy lines after the blasts in Crimea.

Meanwhile, fighting in southern Ukrainian areas...