In Russia-occupied Crimea, the Moscow-appointed head of the city of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said that Russian defenses downed four aerial drones attacking the city and sank two uncrewed boats near the shore.

A Ukrainian sea drone has destroyed a Russian helicopter off the coast of Crimea for the first time. Footage of the attack shared by HUR, Kyiv’s military intelligence, showed the drone bobbing on the seas as the aircraft manoeuvred in the skies above. Plumes of water splashed up next to the Magura V5 drone as Russian fire hit the sea around it.

A key oil facility erupted into flames this morning following a suspected drone strike by Ukraine inside Russia. The attack hit a depot in Russia 's Yartsevo district of the Smolensk region, which caught fire overnight on December 31, Russian authorities said.