Ukraine says it shot down Russian jet after Black Sea coast targeted

Ukraine said on Saturday it had shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Russian port city of Novorossiysk using a naval drone.

The Russian Su-30 jet was hit by a missile and crashed into the sea, Ukrainian military intelligence said, publishing a video of the alleged launch over the Black Sea.

Russian military bloggers confirmed the incident, saying the pilots survived the crash and were rescued by a civilian ship.

However, Moscow has not officially confirmed the jet was brought down. The Ukrainian account could not initially be independently verified.

If the downing of the jet is confirmed, this would be the first time the Ukrainian armed forces have brought down a Russian jet with a naval drone.

In December, Ukrainian military intelligence said it had shot down two Russian helicopters using naval drones.

Black Sea coast hit by drones

Earlier, Kiev's forces attacked a series of targets on the Black Sea coast with drones.

Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram that the region came under attack, with the city of Novorossiysk particularly badly hit. There had been a fire at a grain terminal and damage to three blocks of flats, he said.

According to the Novorossiysk mayor, Andrei Kravchenko, five people were injured, including two children.

The Russian Defence Ministry said that 170 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted over five Russian regions and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.

The military data cannot be verified in detail, but the numbers allow conclusions to be drawn about the scale of the attacks.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for more than three years.

As part of its defence campaign, it also repeatedly attacks targets in Russia. The damage and casualties are far smaller than the devastating consequences of the Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine reports large-scale drone attack on Kharkiv

Ukrainian authorities in the city of Kharkhiv said overnight that almost 50 people had been injured in a large-scale attack.

Regional military administrator Oleh Syniehubov said that Russia used 11 bombs and 52 drones of various types to hit the Kharkhiv region.

The strikes hit 12 locations in four separate districts of the city itself.

According to Syniehubov, residential buildings, civilian infrastructure and cars were damaged. The information from the Ukrainian side could not initially be independently verified.

The Ukrainian air force wrote on Telegram in the morning that Russia had fired two ballistic missiles and used 183 drones. Of these, 77 had been shot down.

"There were no military targets, nor could there have been," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a social media post reacting to the attack.

"While the world hesitates with decisions, nearly every night in Ukraine turns into a nightmare, costing lives," he added.

Zelensky warns of security threats at Moscow's WWII parade

Zelensky warned those set to attend World War II commemorations in Moscow on May 9 that Ukraine could not guarantee their safety.

"We cannot bear responsibility for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation," he told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Saturday, warning that Russia could carry out arson attacks or set off explosives and blame them on Kiev.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed Zelensky's remarks as a "classic threat from a terrorist of international stature," in a post on Telegram.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a unilateral ceasefire for May 8 to 11 to coincide with the annual Victory Parade on Moscow's Red Square to mark the end of World War II, which is celebrated in Russia on May 9.

Moscow rejected a proposal by Kiev to extend the ceasefire to a comprehensive 30-day ceasefire.