Ukrainian Drone Strikes Cut Power and Water in Crimea as UK and France Hold Major Airborne Drill

A Ukrainian drone attack on power grids in Russian-occupied Crimea led to restrictions on electricity and water supplies on Saturday, according to the Moscow-installed head of the peninsula. Sergei Aksyonov wrote on Telegram that "restrictions on the supply of electricity and water have been put in place." He did not say how many households were affected in Crimea, which has more than 2.5 million residents.

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and the peninsula is regularly targeted by Ukrainian attacks. Separately, a Ukrainian strike in a Russian-held part of the north-eastern Kharkiv region killed at least three people and gravely wounded another on Saturday, the Moscow-backed authorities said.

Drones also struck inside Russia itself. The country's defence ministry said 616 drones were shot down overnight across more than 20 regions. During the day, drones hit the south-western border region of Bryansk and killed at least three people, regional acting governor Yegor Kovalchuc said on Telegram.

Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine killed at least five people, authorities there said. Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha said three people died and at least 12 were wounded on Saturday evening when a Russian drone hit the town of Synelnykove and set the fourth floor of a high-rise building on fire. In Sumy, authorities said a Russian drone struck a farm, killing a 31-year-old woman and injuring four others.

Far from the front line, thousands of British and French troops took part in a military exercise that included one of Britain's largest airborne operations in two decades, the UK government said on Sunday. The war game is meant to demonstrate how Nato countries could be defended against a modern attack, and it comes amid concern about Russian aggression in Europe during Moscow's war against Ukraine.

About 2,500 troops joined the seven-week exercise, named Rhino Titan, at the Sennelager military training centre in Germany. Some 600 British and French paratroopers jumped from four RAF A400M Atlas transport aircraft. The drill tested British troops against an enemy using drones and electronic warfare. British defence minister Wes Streeting said in a statement: "The threats we face in the 21st century require an updated, modern approach to warfare", adding that the country's adaptable armed forces are preparing accordingly.

On the communications front, the Ukrainian government said its military has a "stable connection to Starlink", 10 days after its ability to use the satellite system was suddenly restricted. Within hours of that announcement, SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk, whose company owns Starlink, accused the Ukrainian military of violating the company's terms. Neither Musk nor the US government, which operates Starshield using Starlink technology, took responsibility for the curbs.

Meanwhile, Bulgarians vote in presidential elections on Sunday as the war spreads to the waters off the country's Black Sea coast. Polls show acting president Iliana Iotova and former caretaker prime minister Andrey Gyurov leading a field of 27 candidates. The presidency is largely ceremonial, but the vote carries added weight after a series of drone attacks on merchant ships off the Bulgarian coast that likely killed about two dozen international seafarers.