Russian(Washington Insider Magazine)-CRIMEA (Transatlantic Today) – On Tuesday, the focus of the world’s attention on Russia’s conflict in Ukraine shifted once more to the Russian-annexed Crimea, the site of two distinct fires, including one with significant explosions, which resulted in the evacuation of almost 2,000 inhabitants and wounded at least 2 people.
The second occurrence in a week in Crimea made many doubt Ukrainian forces’ ability to attack the peninsula more and more. In social media videos, there were many explosions audible in the background and massive plumes of smoke towering above the raging fires.
Early on Tuesday, fire and explosions shook the Crimean village of Mayskoye in the Dzhankoi area, according to Russian media.
Another morning event was reported in Dzhankoi itself, with a transformer substation on fire following “a loud thump sound,” according to Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA Novosti. Shortly afterward, the substation fire was reported under control, according to a report from Russia’s Energy Ministry.
The connection between the fires at the substation and the weapons storage facility wasn’t immediately clear.
Kyiv undoubtedly spread a message of turmoil.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a fire broke out at a location where one of the military units temporarily stored its armaments.
The Crimean district of Dzhankoi is located in the north of the peninsula, roughly 30 miles from Kherson, a territory in southern Ukraine that is governed by Russia. Kyiv has lately launched a number of assaults on various locations in the area, focusing on ammunition depots and Russian military supply lines.
Sergei Aksyonov, the governor of Crimea who was appointed by Russia, reported that two individuals were hurt in the most recent event and that inhabitants were being removed from the neighborhood while ammunition explosions continued.
According to Aksyonov, a few residential structures were damaged close to the fire, and roughly 2,000 people had to be evacuated from the area. Railway lines that pass through Mayskoye reportedly sustained damage as well.
All trains, according to Aksyonov, would halt at Vladislavovka, a town 55 miles south of Mayskoye, where passengers may board buses to continue their travels.
According to NBC NEWS, several explosions took place at the Saki air base in Crimea, which is close to the settlement of Novofedorivka, last week. Although the event looked to be the outcome of a Ukrainian strike, the Russian military first attributed the explosions to an accidental explosion of ammunition there. According to Kyiv, nine Russian planes were damaged in the blasts.
At the time, Ukrainian officials refrained from openly taking blame for the explosions while criticizing Russia’s theory that a negligent smoker may have accidentally set explosives at the Saki air base on fire and detonated. Analysts also noted that this explanation is illogical and that the Ukrainians may have attacked the base with anti-ship missiles.
Both sides place great symbolic and strategic value on the Crimean Peninsula. One of the Kremlin’s main demands for an end to the conflict has been for Ukraine to acknowledge Crimea as a part of Russia. Ukraine has threatened to expel the Russians from the region and all other seized territories.
Additionally, a British Defense Ministry intelligence bulletin stated that Russia’s Black Sea Fleet surface ships continue to maintain a very defensive position in the waters surrounding Crimea, with boats hardly straying from the shoreline.
The Ukrainian forces retook Snake Island, a key stronghold off Ukraine’s southwest coast, last month. Snake Island is crucial for securing maritime passages out of Odessa, Ukraine’s largest port, as Russia had previously lost its flagship there.
The British report said that the Russian fleet’s “limited effectiveness undermines Russia’s overall invasion strategy.” Because of this, Ukraine may use its resources to pressure Russian ground forces in other places.
