Owing to Sevastopol’s strategic location, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been based there since the 18th century. As a predominantly Russian-speaking region that was transferred to Ukrainian jurisdiction only in 1954, at a time when both countries were part of the Soviet Union, Crimea has featured as Exhibit A in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s argument that rightfully Russian territories were severed from the homeland after communism’s collapse. Russia has held Crimea without difficulty for eight years.Ĭrimea matters for historical reasons as well. And while all but a small handful of the world’s governments still recognize it as Ukrainian territory, there was no forceful global response. After a referendum dismissed by Ukraine and most international observers as a sham, Russia formally annexed the peninsula. That year, in the chaos that followed the ouster of Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovych amid mass protests in Kyiv, Russian special forces executed a nearly unopposed operation to seize control of the peninsula. He was referring not to this year’s invasion but to the longer conflict between the two countries that began in 2014. “This Russian war … began with Crimea and must end with Crimea - with its liberation,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week. They are also raising questions about just how far Ukraine will be able to push its campaign to recover territory it lost to Russia, nearly a decade ago. While Crimea is still not seeing anywhere near the level of violence visited on eastern or southern Ukraine, the strikes deep in the heart of a place that has been safely in Russian hands for eight years are creating difficult military and political challenges for the Kremlin. The attacks have continued, including a second drone strike on the fleet headquarters on Aug. (Maxar)Ī week after the Saki strike, an ammunition depot in Crimea exploded this time the Russian defense ministry blamed an “act of sabotage.” That same day, there was an explosion at a different air base. 10.Ĭredit: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies. The Russian military wasn’t particularly known for naval aviation to begin with, and that toll would represent a small proportion of total Russian air power, but it could have an impact on Russia’s ability to project power in the Black Sea and southern Ukraine.Ĭlose-up view of aircraft after an attack on Saki Air Base in Crimea on Aug. According to Western officials quoted by Reuters, the strike on Saki may have knocked out half the Black Sea Fleet’s combat aircraft. Satellite imagery showed destroyed planes and significant damage to the airfield. Moscow denied any planes had been destroyed and blamed the explosion on an accidental ammunition detonation, an explanation that prompted much online mockery. Things escalated sharply with the strike on Saki nine days later, which the Ukrainian military said destroyed nine Russian aircraft. Russian beachgoers might have kept to their routines. It started in a relatively small way last month, when a Ukrainian drone flew into the courtyard of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, injuring five people and forcing the cancellation of Navy Day celebrations. The second shows the degree to which Crimea - the peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 - has been cut off from the war raging just a few miles away, and the sense of calm and security that has prevailed there. The first attests to Ukraine’s demonstrated ability to strike targets deep behind Russian lines. The other was the sight of clearly alarmed Russian tourists in bathing suits and beach wraps scattering from their cabanas. One was the size of the mushroom cloud in the background. At least two things were striking about one of the first videos that emerged of an attack on Russia’s Saki Air Base in Crimea on Aug.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |