Live: Russia says it downed four drones over Crimea as Ukraine hails air base strike

Russia on Saturday announced its forces shot down four Ukrainian missiles over Moscow-annexed Crimea overnight. Kyiv later announced it had hit the Saki airbase in western Crimea. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

10:11am: Kyiv says its drone attack hit Crimean airbase

Ukraine’s air force says it hit the Saki airbase in western Crimea in an overnight drone attack. Moscow previously said that it had successfully downed four drones over the peninsular overnight.

“Saki airfield! All targets have been shot!” Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine’s air force, said on social media.

Ukraine has targeted Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, since the start of Moscow’s full-scale offensive.

Kyiv said Friday that it had targeted a command post near Sevastopol on Thursday.

9:31am: Russia to produce over 32,000 drones each year by 2030, state media says

Russia plans to produce more than 32,000 drones each year by 2030 and for domestic producers to account for 70 percent of the market, the TASS news agency cited First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov as saying on Saturday.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)

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