Ukraine is putting pressure on lost territory

Two massive attacks on Russian bases in Crimea far from the frontline in recent days have given Ukraine a boost – eight years after Russia’s humiliating takeover of the strategic peninsula.

The Russian Defense Ministry said a series of explosions at an ammunition dump near the village of Dzhankoi on Tuesday, which also damaged a railway line, was an act of “sabotage”.

There was no public commitment from the Ukrainian authorities, but Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak called it “demilitarization in action” – using the same terminology Russia uses to justify its invasion of Ukraine.

The blasts came exactly a week after an attack on an airbase that a senior Ukrainian official described on condition of anonymity as “well-prepared, special partisan work.”

Analyst Oliver Alexander said the blasts, which he believes were caused by ballistic missiles, hit morale on the Russian side and boosted it on the Ukrainian side.

“Crimea has been relatively safe for the past six months. Now she isn’t. It puts more pressure on the Russians,” he said.

The attacks have sparked panic among Russian tourists in Crimea and raised concerns in Moscow that a newly built bridge linking Russia to Crimea across the Kerch Strait could be attacked.

Podolyak called for the bridge to be “dismantled” on Wednesday.

“It doesn’t matter how – voluntarily or not,” he said, implying that it was also a legitimate military target.

The Institute for the Study of War in London pointed out that Tuesday’s attack was aimed at a key supply hub for Russian forces in southern Ukraine.

Last week’s attacks were part of a “coherent Ukrainian counteroffensive” to cut supply lines and push back Russian troops across the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine.

“Russian supply lines from Crimea are directly supporting Russian forces in mainland Ukraine, including those in western Kherson Oblast,” it said.

Ukraine says it has recaptured dozens of villages on the southern front and attacked strategic targets, including bridges, in recent weeks.

There were also several explosions in occupied cities believed to be the work of saboteurs.

On Wednesday, Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, a town near Crimea under Russian occupation, said two blasts disrupted the television signal supplied by Russia.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Russian commanders are likely to be “increasingly concerned about the apparent deterioration in security in Crimea, which is acting as a rear base for the crew”.

Once on the fringes of the Ottoman Empire, Crimea’s diamond-shaped trading center was conquered by Russian imperialist troops in the 18th century.

It was the site of the last stand of anti-Bolshevik forces after the 1917 Russian Revolution and was moved to Soviet Ukraine after World War II.

The port of Sevastopol retained a special status as the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

After a pro-Western revolution in Kyiv in 2014, Russian forces took over the peninsula and drove out badly overwhelmed Ukrainian soldiers.

After what was widely seen as a sham referendum in March 2014, Russia annexed the area.

In the first hours of its February 24 invasion, Russia sent troops and weapons through Crimea into southern Ukraine. It eventually captured the city of Kherson – the only major city it holds.

Russian forces eventually established a land corridor connecting Crimea to Russian-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine – a key strategic objective.

As the war rages on, the goal of pushing Russian forces back into position before the invasion is no longer enough for many Ukrainians who want all of their territory, including Crimea, back.

In his daily address on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there are now traffic jams from Crimea to Russia.

“The absolute majority of the citizens of the terror state are beginning to understand, or at least feel, that Crimea is not a place for them.”