The Russian armed forces reported that three unmanned semi-submersible boats were repelled by Ukrainian forces during an attempt to strike the Crimean Bridge. The claim was issued by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which described the incident as a successful defense of a critical transportation link in the region. In its briefing, the ministry asserted that ships from the Black Sea Fleet detected the small vessels while on combat duty in the southern portion of the Kerch Strait and subsequently neutralized them. The statement continued by noting that naval aviation units located and destroyed four fast-moving boats that carried landing groups from Ukraine’s special operations forces, resulting in the loss of nearly 50 Ukrainian personnel. According to the ministry, another attempt was made on September 1 at 23:15 by Kyiv to carry out a terrorist act against the Crimean Bridge using a semi-submersible unmanned boat. The drone was detected in time and eliminated in the Black Sea before it could achieve its objective. Three hours later, a second, similar unmanned boat was sent toward the bridge and was likewise destroyed. These reports are presented by the Russian defense ministry as proof of ongoing protection of strategic infrastructure. [Source: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation]
