Ukraine says blood transfusion centre hit in Russian attacks; Crimea bridges hit
By Pavel Polityuk
KYIV (Reuters) — Ukraine said Russia bombed a blood transfusion centre near the front line in a wave of air strikes overnight while Moscow reported that it had shot down a drone heading to the capital on Sunday in the third such attack in a week.
Both countries have stepped up attacks on each other's troops, weaponry and infrastructure supporting the war as Ukraine seeks to dislodge Russian forces who have dug in across southern and eastern Ukraine since their invasion last year.
The Moscow-appointed head of Crimea said the Chonhar bridge to the peninsula, which was annexed from Ukraine by Moscow in 2014, had been damaged by a missile strike. Another of the three road links between Crimea and Russian-occupied parts of mainland Ukraine, near the town of Henichesk, was shelled and a civilian driver wounded, a Moscow-appointed official said.
Traffic was halted on a third bridge, linking Russia to Crimea, after both sides said a Ukrainian naval drone full of explosives struck a Russian fuel tanker vessel overnight from Friday to Saturday, the second such attack in 24 hours.
The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the Black Sea peninsula, which is of military importance to Moscow as well as a popular tourist destination for Russians.
Inside Russia, Moscow's Vnukovo airport suspended flights on Sunday, citing unspecified reasons outside its control. Vnukovo imposed similar suspensions when Moscow was attacked by drones last week. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a drone had been shot down on Sunday south of the capital.
At least 10 Russian missiles appear to have got through Ukraine's air defences in the overnight attack, which Ukraine's air force said involved 70 air assault weapons
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