Russia builds ‘significant’ defences as Putin panics about ‘Crimea assault’

Jun 21, 2023 at 3:27 PM

Russia is constructing “elaborate and significant” defensive fortifications above Crimea over fears that Ukraine is “capable of directly assaulting” the peninsula with British and US-supplied long-range weapons, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported.

A day after the Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, one among solely a handful of males in Vladimir Putin’s siloviki (the autocrat’s interior circle), issued a determined warning to Ukraine over a possible retaking of Crimea, the MoD launched satellite tv for pc photographs detailing how the occupying forces are trying to guard the peninsula.

The Crimean area is of immense significance to Russia as a result of it affords them their solely entry to a heat water port (Sevastopol) – all of its different ports are topic to freezing temperatures for 1 / 4 of the 12 months, stopping them from exporting items world wide 12 months spherical – in addition to offering a base for its prized Black Sea naval fleet.

Satellite photographs revealed by the MoD on Wednesday (June 21) morning confirmed Russia had been fortifying their defensive positions north of the small city of Armyansk, in northern Crimea. The city is of regional significance as a result of it’s positioned on the slim land bridge simply beneath Kherson Oblast, which has been partially liberated by Ukraine.

The city additionally marks the start of the E97 strategic freeway into the center of the peninsula – two Ukrainian foremost roads, the M17 and the T2202, merge in Armyansk – and the lack of that junction might show deadly to a doable defence of Crimea.

The MoD mentioned Russia had constructed “an extensive zone of defences of 5.6 miles (9 km) in length” roughly two miles north of the small city.

They added: “These elaborate defences highlight the Russian command’s assessment that Ukrainian forces are capable of directly assaulting Crimea. Russia continues to see maintaining control of the peninsula as a top political priority.”

On Tuesday (June 20), Sergey Aksyonov, the Russia-appointed head of occupied Crimea, claimed that Russian digital warfare items downed a Ukrainian drone within the north of the peninsula.

While that report couldn’t be verified, it additional represents a rising concern amongst Russian authorities that as Ukrainian forces advance deeper into the occupied territories, albeit slowly, Crimea slips evermore inside vary of Western-supplied missiles.

The nearest Ukrainian forces to Crimea are stationed on the northwestern banks of the Dnipro River, roughly 78 miles from Armyansk; their longest-range weapon, the British-supplied Storm Shadow missile, can hit targets round 150 miles away.

The identical day that Aksyonov claimed his forces had downed a drone, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, thought of one among Putin’s closest allies, informed a ministry board assembly that Ukraine is “planning to deliver strikes” on Crimea.

“According to our data, the leadership of the Ukrainian armed forces is planning to deliver strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation, including Crimea, with HIMARS [rockets] and Storm Shadow missiles,” he mentioned.

He warned that using these weapons would set off speedy strikes by Russia on decision-making centres in Ukraine and would suggest the full-fledged involvement of the US and the UK within the battle.

The Kremlin considers Crimea outdoors of the “special military operation” zone, an opinion reflective of its significance to their naval and exporting industries versus any authentic declare to the peninsula, and Shoigu steered they’d deal with a strike on that territory the identical as they’d an assault on mainland Russia.

He concluded the assembly by claiming that the Russian Armed Forces had “repelled all 263 Ukrainian counter attacks” since June 4, although he didn’t present any proof to again that report up.