After explosions at a Russian air force base in Crimea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again promised his countrymen that the lost peninsula would be brought home. “Crimea is Ukrainian and we will never give it up,” he said in Kyiv on Tuesday night. According to the first available images, the detonations at the Saki base in western Crimea caused severe damage.
With annexation in 2014, Russia turned Crimea into one of the most dangerous places. “The Black Sea region cannot be safe while Crimea is occupied,” Zelenskyy said. “This Russian war against Ukraine, against all free Europe, began with Crimea and must end with Crimea, with its liberation.”
The cause was still not entirely clear. But the number and strength of the blasts suggest a targeted attack from Ukraine. It would be the first military strike on targets on the Black Sea Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. Symbolically, it would be as heavy a blow to Moscow’s leadership as the sinking of the cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, in mid-air. Of april.
Russia had deployed Sukhoi Su-24 bombers and Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighters at Saki airbase, north of Sevastopol. Many attacks on targets in southern Ukraine were made from the base. The first videos from the base, which have not yet been verified, showed several burned-out cars, but also a destroyed Su-24.
While the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that the ammunition exploded due to negligence, the New York Times reported on a Ukrainian attack. A Ukrainian-developed weapon was used, the newspaper quoted a top Ukrainian military official as saying. Ukraine’s loyalists also played a role in the attack.
Zelenskyy adviser Oleksiy Arestovych also spoke unofficially of an attack with a new Ukrainian weapon “while our partners are still not sending us long-range missiles”. The Ukrainian defense industry is progressing. Arestovych also mentioned the possible use of partisans.
The focus of military experts is primarily on the new Hrim-2 short-range ballistic missiles. They were developed in Ukraine and are said to have a range of up to 500 kilometers.
Russia considers the Crimean peninsula to be its territory and has threatened massive retaliation in case of Ukrainian attacks. Most states recognize that Crimea remains a part of Ukraine under international law.
Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine, in the Donbass, Russian troops were trying to advance further. Concerns from Ukraine and the international community continued on Wednesday over the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian troops. For Ukraine it is the 168th day of repelling the Russian invasion.