<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Russian forces have downed 28 Ukrainian drones over Crimea overnight, Moscow's defence ministry and a local official said on Tuesday.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seventeen drones sent by Ukraine's forces overnight were "destroyed" and another 11 were "suppressed" by electronic means, Russia's defence ministry said in a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It said there were no casualties or damage.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Crimea's Russian-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov said on Telegram that 28 drones had been downed or destroyed during the night.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There are no victims," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Drone attacks in Crimea have increased in recent weeks as Ukraine wages a counter-offensive against Russian forces.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move not recognised by the international community.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kyiv has repeatedly said it plans to take back the peninsula.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Waterborne drones struck the sole bridge connecting Russia to Crimea on Monday, in a deadly attack on a vital supply route claimed by Ukraine's security services.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The explosion hit the Kerch bridge, a major conduit for Russia's troops in Ukraine, just hours before a crucial deal to export Ukrainian grain was to expire. BSS</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>