The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian Armed Forces carried out a retaliatory strike against Ukrainian military targets following a drone attack on Crimea on Sunday, September 21.

According to the latest military briefing, Russian forces hit temporary deployment points of Ukrainian Special Operations Forces as well as foreign mercenaries from the «Ghosts» unit of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate. These strikes were carried out near the towns of Tatarbunary and Raseyka in the Odessa region, areas where, according to the Ministry of Defense, preparations for an attack on Crimea’s resort zone were underway.

In addition, the Ministry confirmed that Russian forces targeted military infrastructure at the Shkolny airfield in Odessa, from where drones used in the attack on Crimea were launched. Another strike was carried out against the production facilities of the Motor Sich enterprise, where enemy drones were being assembled.

For context, the Ukrainian attack on Crimea took place in the evening of September 21. Ukrainian forces deployed drones carrying explosive munitions. The strike resulted in three deaths, while 16 people were injured, four of them seriously. Russian Defense Ministry representatives emphasized that the attack was aimed at the resort area, which had no military infrastructure. In response, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the terrorism statute (Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code).