In the north of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia, the air defense system shot down Ukrainian drones, according to the authorities. Crimean head of administration Sergey Aksyonov announced on Monday that one person had been injured in the town of Dzhankoy. Houses and a grocery store were damaged by fallen debris. The manager of Dzhankoy, Igor Ivin, said that a fire broke out in the store.
Electrical wiring was also damaged. The exact extent of the damage was initially unclear. In Kiev, the Defense Ministry’s military intelligence said the attack was aimed at transporting missiles on railway tracks. Rockets were destroyed. This will continue the process of “Russia’s demilitarization” and prepare Crimea for liberation from Russian occupation.
There was no confirmation from the Russian side that missiles were said to have been destroyed. For example, Russia transports missiles for the Black Sea Fleet overland to the military ports. In addition, the Russian troops in the occupied areas of Cherson and Zaporizhia are supplied with supplies via the strategically important ice rink route.
In Dschankoj there had already been a heavy explosion in an ammunition depot in August last year. There were injuries then too. Thousands of people had to be brought to safety. The train service had to be temporarily suspended in the middle of the tourist season. The rail connections from Moscow go via Dschankoj over the new Crimean bridge to the capital Simferopol on the peninsula.
The incidents repeatedly raise questions among Russian observers as to how well the heavily armed peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014, is actually protected. Other Russian regions in the border area with Ukraine have also been complaining regarding attacks from the Ukrainian side for months. There were dead, injured and severe destruction in the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had announced that he wanted to liberate Crimea like all other occupied areas of Ukraine.
