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Crimea: Ukraine attacks Putin's fortress

2023-09-18 20:24:06Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA ROMAN GONçARENKO
Crimea: Ukraine attacks Putin's fortress
Crimea under attack

With a combination of drones and missiles, Ukraine is intensifying attacks on Russian military positions in Crimea. Why is the annexed peninsula considered decisive for the war?

This is the second night in a row that this has happened. Early Thursday morning, Ukrainian troops attacked Russian military positions on the annexed Crimean peninsula. According to Ukrainian media, the target was an even more modern S-300 or S-400 air defense system near the city of Evpatoriya.

This would be the second such system to be attacked in Crimea in a matter of weeks. The Russian military this time reported only an alleged repulsed drone strike, without details.

The night before, Ukraine had reported a spectacular attack on Sevastopol, the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. According to reports from Kiev, several cruise missiles hit a warship and a submarine. Both were seriously injured. The Russian Defense Ministry said the ships would be repaired.

Ukraine destroys the Crimean bridge

For weeks, the Ukrainian army has increased its attacks against Crimea. The attacks have never been so intense and never resulted in so many losses for the Russian side. The peninsula, already annexed in 2014, was transformed by Russia in the following years into a military fortress with several bases for the naval and air forces.

Shortly before the Russian invasion in February 2022, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine estimated that Russian troops in Crimea numbered 32,000. It is said that nuclear weapons are also located there.

Ukraine attacked the island massively for the first time in August 2022. At that time, a military airport near Sakit was hit and several warplanes were destroyed. In October, about a year ago, the Crimean bridge was destroyed for the first time. Since then, this bridge, essential for supplying Russian troops, has been the subject of repeated attacks, the latest of which was carried out by naval drones.

Sevastopol, Crimea, smoke rising from a missile strike Sevastopol, Crimea, smoke rising from a missile strike

Crimea: Ukraine attacks Putin's fortress
Sevastopol, Crimea

Black Sea Fleet Base

Why is Crimea so important to both sides? Beyond the symbolic importance that Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to emphasize, the peninsula is particularly important in a military sense.

The Black Sea Fleet stationed there attacks Ukrainian cities with Kalibr cruise missiles – from within the country to the EU border. The same applies to the aircraft stationed in Crimea and their missiles.

In addition, Crimea plays a central role in supplying Russian troops to southern Ukraine. Finally, the naval blockade of Ukrainian ports would be difficult for Russia to enforce without Crimea.

Soon after the invasion, Russia was able to seize larger areas from Crimea and secure a land link with mainland Russia. It is this connection that the Ukrainian army is now trying to break with its counterattack since the beginning of summer.

The army, among other things, is attacking all the bridges connecting Crimea with the mainland. For this, it most often uses Western precision weapons, British and French cruise missiles.

Advance in Crimea and then negotiate?

The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, General Valery Salushnyj, described Crimea as a "key factor" in Russia's war against Ukraine in a fall 2022 editorial.

A reoccupation of the peninsula would certainly weaken Russia decisively, but would not guarantee an end to the military conflict. Russia may continue the war even after the loss of Crimea from its mainland, warned Salushnyj.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, hopes for a breakthrough. The war started in Crimea and will end there, the head of state declared. The best would be for Kiev to advance in Crimea and then negotiate a Russian withdrawal. At the moment, however, it is difficult to imagine that Russia would agree to do so./ DW


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