Kyiv [Ukraine], May 3: The Russian Defense Ministry announced on May 2 that it had shot down 121 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launched by Ukraine during the night, of which 89 were downed in the Crimean Peninsula and 23 in the Black Sea.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, a Russian-appointed official as governor of Sevastopol, said it was one of the largest coordinated attacks on the Crimean city in 2025, according to RT. He said the attack did not cause any damage in the city and emergency services remained on high alert.
According to The Kyiv Independent, pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels reported explosions at key locations in Crimea, including those where Russian military airports are located.
Accordingly, the Saky and Kacha airfields are used by Russia to control the airspace in the Black Sea and attack Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine has not commented on the above information. The Ukrainian Air Force on the same day accused Russia of launching 150 UAVs during the overnight attack. Ukraine said it shot down 64 of them and 62 failed to reach their targets, possibly due to electronic warfare measures.
In the city of Zaporizhzhia, the capital of the province of the same name, a UAV attack late on May 1 burned many buildings, injuring 29 people. Governor Ivan Fedorov announced that three people were rescued from the rubble and 12 were being treated in hospitals.
Russia establishes security perimeter in Ukraine
The RIA news agency on May 2 quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that the country is continuing to create a security perimeter in the border areas in Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia's Kursk Oblast. The operation took place after Russia announced the withdrawal of all Ukrainian forces from Kursk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March that Russia should establish a buffer zone in Sumy.
"Units of the northern group of the forces have completed the destruction of formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kursk Oblast. The establishment of a security strip in the border areas of the Sumy region of Ukraine continues," the Russian Defense Ministry announced.Contrary to Russia's claims, Ukraine says it maintains forces in Kursk but is concerned about potential Russian advances on Sumy.
Governor Sumy Oleh Hryhorov said on April 29 that Russia was not very successful in establishing a buffer zone but acknowledged that four villages in the province are in a "gray zone" torn by Moscow's attacks. Open source data website DeepState shows about 82 km2 the area in Sumy is a tug-of-war area.
The US will stop playing an intermediary role?
At a press conference on May 1, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that Washington will no longer act as a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv, instead, the two sides of the conflict should directly dialogue with each other.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper