MOSCOW, Sept 22, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian official said on Monday that a Ukrainian drone strike had killed three people in Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014 following a referendum opposed by Western nations.

Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-backed head of Crimea, said Ukraine had targeted the resort town of Foros, damaging the grounds of a sanatorium and a school building.

"According to updated data, three people were killed and 16 were wounded as a result of (the) UAV attack," Aksyonov said on Telegram.

Fragments of the downed drone also caused a fire near the coastal city of Yalta, he said.

Russia's defence ministry called the strike a "terrorist attack" and initially put the death toll at two.

Ukraine said Moscow had carried out 46 air strikes on its territory as of 10:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Sunday.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 following a referendum denounced by the international community, and wants Kyiv and Western countries to recognise the peninsula as part of its territory.

Ukrainian forces frequently carry out strikes on the heavily fortified region, including on a bridge connecting it to the Russian mainland.

After meeting Russian leader Vladimir Putin for high-profile talks last month, US President Donald Trump said Ukraine would not be able to regain Crimea as part of a peace deal.

Progress towards a truce has stalled since that flurry of diplomacy, which also saw Trump hold a separate meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.