“This is a new series of sabotage actions that seem to affect […] territories under Russian control”, notice it Guardian. At least four explosions shook Thursday evening the surroundings of the Russian military airbase in Belbek, near Sevastopol, headquarters of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, according to sources in the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia. Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvojayev said on his Telegram account that Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down a Ukrainian drone.
Shortly before, the latter had been activated near the city of Kerch, also in Crimea, where there is a bridge connecting the peninsula to mainland Russia, built at great expense after the annexation. On Wednesday, through the voice of an adviser to the presidency, Mikhaïlo Podoliak, kyiv had threatened to “dismantle” this bridge that many Russians on vacation currently use.
“A gray zone, Crimea is both a symbolic and strategic asset in the war” in Ukraine, explains the Washington Post. “The city of Sevastopol is home to a key port that provides Moscow with access to the Mediterranean and is the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. She helped Russia maintain its wartime naval blockade aimed at disrupting trade in Ukrainian ports”recalls the American daily.
Fire at an ammunition depot in the Belgorod region
Further north, two Russian villages Timonovo and Soloti, located less than 50 km from the Ukrainian border in the province of Belgorod, were also evacuated Thursday because of a fire that broke out in an ammunition depot, local authorities said.
According to Governor of Belgorod Vyacheslav Gladkov, mines were also found scattered in the area, reports Medusa. The independent Russian site recalls that “Since the beginning of the large-scale war waged by Russia in Ukraine, the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, has repeatedly been hit by shells coming from the Ukrainian side”.
“Ukraine seeks to further isolate Russian troops”
Several Russian airbases and ammunition depots in Crimea have been devastated by explosions since last week, a new phenomenon since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, as kyiv theoretically lacks the weaponry to hit targets so far from the front line.
“It is not yet entirely certain that all explosions [de jeudi] were of Ukrainian origin but the location of the fires is consistent with the ongoing campaign of deep strikes carried out by kyiv”underlines David Axe, specialist in defense issues at the magazine Forbes. Explosions targeting munitions dumps, airfields and other facilities, “could disrupt supply lines and air operations, and further isolate Russian troops in Ukraine, particularly in the south, where kyiv is struggling to stage a counter-offensive aimed at liberating the port of Kherson from forces Russians”remarks the journalist.