Crimean authorities report air defenses activated in Kerch, drone shot down over Sevastopol

The air defense system in the eastern Crimean city of Kerch was activated on Thursday night, according to Oleg Kriuchkov, an advisor to the Moscow-backed head of Crimea. Kriuchkov said that there’s currently no threat to the city or to the Crimean Bridge. The Kerch city administration’s press service reported that car alarms went off after a sound similar to a thunderclap was heard.

A video circulating online appears to show interceptors from the city’s air defense system. Local social media groups reported that residents heard the sounds of multiple explosions.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed regional administration in Zaporizhzhia, claimed to have preliminary information indicating that a Ukrainian drone had been shot down “a great distance” from the Crimean Bridge. Officials reported that traffic on the Crimean Bridge was at its usual level.

Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev reported that air defense weapons had intercepted a drone near the city’s Belbek airbase. He added that no damage had been done and there were no deaths or injuries.

Meduza cannot immediately verify these official statements.

• The road section of the Crimean Bridge connects Kerch to the Russian city of Novorossiysk. The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly discussed plans to attack the bridge. On August 17, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mikhail Podolyak said that the Ukrainian authorities consider the Crimean Bridge a legitimate military target because it’s the supply route for the Russian troops in Crimea.
• On August 9, a series of explosions rocked the Saki airbase in Russia-controlled Crimea near the village of Novofedorivka. A week later, more explosions occurred at an ammunition depot near the village of Maiske in Crimea’s Dzhankoy district. The Russian Defense Ministry blamed the airbase attack on an “accidental detonation,” while it called the Masike explosion an “act of sabotage.”