Russia says it downed two Ukrainian drones over Black Sea

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(Reuters) – Russia’s defence units destroyed nine Ukrainian drones overnight, including two over the waters of the Black Sea, the Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday.

The United States reached separate deals on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia to pause their attacks over the Black Sea and against each other’s energy targets, with Washington agreeing to push to lift some sanctions against Moscow.

It was not clear when and how the Black Sea deals would come into force. It was also not immediately clear whether the drones were aimed at Black Sea targets or were just flying over the waters.

The Russian defence ministry reports only how many drones were destroyed, not how many Ukraine launched. It never reports potential damage and there were no immediate reports of hits on Black Sea or energy targets.

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.

A Ukrainian drone attack overnight left one civilian injured and caused minor damage in an apartment building in the Russian border region of Belgorod, said Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region.

The person was hospitalised with head injuries, Gladkov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Five drones were destroyed over the Belgorod region, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Lincoln Feast)