A total of 87 UAVs were downed over Russia, with 45 over the peninsula, the Defense Ministry has said

The Russian military has downed almost a hundred Ukrainian drones overnight across several Russian regions, including half of them over the Crimean Peninsula, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

In a statement on Thursday morning, the ministry said Russian air defense forces destroyed or intercepted a total of 87 fixed-wing Ukrainian drones.

Of the total, 45 drones were shot down over Crimea. Elsewhere, ten each were intercepted in the border Belgorod and Kursk regions, and eight in Voronezh. Four drones were downed in each of Bryansk, Lipetsk, and Nizhny Novgorod regions, while two were intercepted near Moscow. The statement did not specify whether any of the drones caused damage or casualties.

Crimea, which joined Russia after voting in a public referendum in 2014 following a Western-backed coup in Kiev, is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet and has frequently been targeted throughout the conflict with Ukraine. Moscow has accused Kiev of attacking the peninsula's civilian infrastructure, including the strategic Crimean bridge that connects it to the mainland.

The issue of Crimea is reportedly at the center of negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict. According to multiple media reports, US President Donald Trump has floated a draft proposal that includes American recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and an agreement to bar Ukraine from NATO membership, which has long been a key concern for Moscow.

However, Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has refused to discuss recognition of Crimea as Russian, with a Washington Post report claiming that his rebuttal of the US peace roadmap had "angered" officials in Washington.

Trump has described Zelensky's stance as "very harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago," while accusing the Ukrainian leader of prolonging the conflict.

(RT.com)