Russia says it stopped attempted attack by Ukraine on Sevastopol

Defence ministry says its forces destroyed seven aerial and two underwater drones

Russian warships sail on the Neva river during a rehearsal for the Naval parade in Saint Petersburg on Sunday. AFP

Russia said its forces destroyed seven aerial and two underwater drones during an attempt by Ukraine to attack the Black Sea port of Sevastopol on Sunday.

Its defence ministry said two aerial drones were shot down a great distance from the coastline, while five were intercepted by Russia's electronic warfare forces, in what it described as a “terrorist” attack.

“This morning, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by seven unmanned aerial vehicles and two unmanned underwater vehicles on objects on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula near the city of Sevastopol was thwarted,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

There were no casualties and no damage, it said.

Two unmanned underwater vehicles were destroyed in the northern part of the Black Sea, the ministry said.

Earlier, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, said on Telegram that the attacks were over the harbour of Sevastopol and the city's Balaklava, Khersones districts.

Maritime transport, including passenger ferries, was suspended for several hours early on Sunday, the city's Moscow-backed transport authorities said on their Telegram channel.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the attack on Sevastopol, a port in the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in the country but has been saying in recent months that destroying Russia's military infrastructure helps Kyiv's counteroffensive.

Putin says Russia has stockpile of cluster munitions

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia has a “sufficient stockpile” of cluster munitions and warned it “reserves the right to take reciprocal action” if Ukraine uses the weapons.

Mr Putin told Rossiya TV that Russia has not used cluster bombs in its war in Ukraine so far. The interview marked his first comments on the delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine from the US.

“Until now, we have not done this, we have not used it, and we have not had such a need,” he said.

The use of cluster bombs by both Russia and Ukraine has been widely documented by international humanitarian organisations, AP reported. It said cluster rounds have been found in the aftermath of Russian strikes.

Rossiya TV reporter Pavel Zarubin published excerpts of the interview to his Telegram channel Sunday ahead of a scheduled broadcast on Sunday night.

The bombs, which open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets, are seen by the US as a way to get Kyiv critically needed ammunition to help bolster its offensive and push through the Russian front lines.

US leaders debated the issue for months before President Joe Biden made the final decision last week.

Cluster bombs have long been criticised by humanitarian groups and some US allies because of a high “dud rate”, meaning they often leave behind unexploded bomblets that can harm civilians long after a battle has ended.