• 11/25/2024

Not just command post: Russian defence system damaged in Crimea

Pravda Ukraine

The attack on Russia’s military facilities in occupied Crimea on 4 January destroyed not only a command post but also severely damaged the Russian defence system on tge peninsula. Ukraine’s Defence Forces also targeted the new deployment of Shahed kamikaze UAVs on the peninsula.

Source: Nataliia Humeniuk, Head of the Joint Press Centre for Operational Command Pivden (South), in a comment to Suspilne, Ukraine’s public broadcaster

Quote: “Not only was a command post hit, but a serious combat activity took place over the past 24 hours, including severe damage to the defence system on the Crimean Peninsula.”

Details: Humeniuk says this is not the first such case that prompted the Russians to seriously reshape their defence system.

“They are now once again experiencing the same hysteria with relocations, trying to manoeuvre and place both the defence systems and the assets they protect in other places,” the official said.

Furthermore, Humeniuk noted that the Russian military has recently relocated launch sites for the Shahed UAVs. Although they mostly used Cape Chauda before, some launches were recorded near the settlement of Balaklava after several high-impact strikes by the Ukrainian forces.

“This is the focus of the Defence Forces’ efforts, to make the enemy not feel so safe in these areas and to always remember that Crimea is Ukrainian, and we are fighting for it,” she said.

The official also believes that the explosions near the Crimean Bridge are more of a smokescreen, “an attempt to protect this redundant configuration target.”

Quote from Humeniuk: “However, the very concern and fears for its fate are not groundless. Our combat work is ongoing, there are still many sites we need to deal with. And we will definitely report on every tangible result if it is worthy of announcement.”

Details: A resident of the village of Lisnivka, Yevpatoriia district (formerly Sakskyi district), told Suspilne.Krym that he had heard four strong explosions at different intervals late on the evening of 4 January, which shook the windows.

“I heard four explosions at different intervals at night. I heard the first two at 21:30, then two more around 23:00. The explosions were intense, the windows were shaking,” he said.

Background:

  • On 4 January, powerful explosions struck the cities of Yevpatoriia and Sevastopol (Crimea). The traffic on the Crimean Bridge was suspended at the time. One of the Ukrainian missiles hit the command post in Yukharyna Balka airfield in Sevastopol.
  • The Office of Strategic Communications of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the damage to the command post in Sevastopol. Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, praised the Ukrainian pilots and everyone involved in planning the operation in occupied Crimea on 4 January for their “impeccable combat work”.
  • At the same time, the Atesh military partisan movement reported that the Ukrainian forces, following a tip-off from the partisans, also struck a Russian military unit in Yevpatoriia, where the Russians had moved their radar systems.
  • Mikhail Razvozhayev, Russian-appointed sham “governor” of Sevastopol, claimed that one person was injured when the wreckage crashed into a house, and that missile wreckage fell on different streets.
  • In the late evening of 4 January, reports circulated of explosions in the Kerch Strait area, repulsion of attacks near Sevastopol, evacuation of a hundred people, and strikes near the town of Saky.
  • On 4 January, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that ten missiles had been shot down over Crimea and one drone over the Black Sea, while on the night of 4-5 January, another 36 drones had supposedly been shot down over the peninsula.

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https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/5/7435972/