MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Saturday it had repelled an attempted Ukrainian drone attack on Russian "civilian transport ships" on Friday evening in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, a key artery for grain and oil exports from both countries. It said Russian patrol boats and warplanes had averted the attack, destroying one Ukrainian naval drone by artillery fire and disabling the rest by electronic warfare. A day later, Ukraine said it would adopt the same stance on ships bound for Russian and Russian-controlled Ukrainian ports. The southwestern part of the Black Sea adjoins Turkey's Bosphorus Strait through which cargoes leaving the sea travel. Ukraine has in recent months mounted a series of drone and missile attacks on Russian military targets in the Black Sea, sinking at least one naval vessel and damaging others.

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Persons: ReutersWriting, Felix LightEditing, Helen PopperEditing, Mark Heinrich, Giles Elgood, Helen Popper Organizations: Civilian, Russia's Defence Ministry Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Turkish