Ukrainian defense minister submits resignation letter

KIEV/MOSCOW/BUCHAREST, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments related to the Ukraine crisis:

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Monday that he has submitted a letter of resignation to parliament chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk.

"It was an honor to serve the Ukrainian people and work for the Ukrainian army for the last 22 months, the toughest period of Ukraine's modern history," Reznikov said on the social media X, formerly known as Twitter.

In the letter, Reznikov, who was appointed as defense minister in November 2021, said that all the key tasks set for his mandate have been accomplished.

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The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that the Russian air defenses destroyed two Ukrainian drones overnight, one shot down over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula and the other intercepted over the Kursk region.

Russian forces also destroyed four Ukrainian military speedboats in the Black Sea early on Monday. The U.S.-made Willard Sea Force military boats were carrying Ukrainian troops and were headed towards Cape Tarkhankut on the Crimean coast, according to the defense ministry.

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The Romanian Defense Ministry on Monday "categorically" denied the reports that Russian drones had fallen overnight on its territory.

"At no time did the means of attack used by the Russian Federation generate direct military threats to the national territory or the territorial waters of Romania," representatives of the ministry were quoted as saying by the Agerpres news agency.

Previously, some international media reported, based on an official of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, that Russian drones fell on the territory of Romania during an attack on Ukrainian ports during the night of Sunday to Monday.