Ukrainian drone strike in Crimea ‘set the stage for counter-offensive’ as Russian fears mount

Yesterday’s drone strike in Crimea could form the basis for a counter-offensive against the Russian invaders, a Ukrainian defense spokesman has suggested.

It follows yesterday’s major fuel tank fire in Sevastopol, the peninsula’s capital – home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet – which Russia has blamed on a Ukrainian drone.

Plumes of smoke could be seen emanating from the depot after the attack destroyed 10 tanks of petroleum products with a total capacity of 40,000 tons, according to the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency (GUR).

‘[The strike] is one of the elements of preparation for a counteroffensive,” said Natalya Gumenyuk, spokeswoman for the Armed Forces’ Southern Operational Command.

The Russian army is said to have been frightened by the strike and has made attempts to evacuate their families and possibly flee Crimea themselves. News In France reports.

“This work is a preparation for a broad and large-scale offensive, which everyone expects,” said a representative of the armed forces.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, posted videos and photos of the fire on his Telegram channel.

The attack came as Ukraine prepared for a long-promised counter-offensive to push back Russian forces from territory they had occupied since the invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine says control of all of its legal territory, including Crimea, is a key condition for any peace deal. Russian troops occupied the peninsula in 2014.

Moscow has accused Kiev of sending waves of drones from the air and sea to attack Crimea.

Razvozhaev said only one drone hit the oil tanks and claimed two other attempted drone strikes were intercepted. He urged Crimea to “keep calm” and said “no one was injured.”

He estimated that the fire covered “about 1,000 square meters.”

Razvozhayev insisted that the peninsula’s reserves had not been depleted and that authorities had enough fuel for all civilian needs.

“The enemy… wanted to surprise Sevastopol, as usual, by launching a sneak attack in the morning,” Razvozhaev wrote in the Telegram app. Russian firefighters had shown how to contain a major blaze “and avoid catastrophe,” he added.

Ukraine is believed to lack longer-range missiles that can hit targets in places like Sevastopol, but has developed drones to overcome this hurdle.

Ukrainian officials do not usually claim responsibility for explosions at military sites in Crimea, although they sometimes celebrate them with euphemistic language.

It came less than 24 hours after Russia struck a typical Soviet-era housing block in the historic city of Uman, killing more than two dozen residents.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening speech on Saturday that six children had been killed in the attack – the previous figure given by authorities was five.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that the terrorist state is held accountable for its actions as soon as possible,” he added.

“Anyone who prepares such missile strikes must know that he is becoming an accomplice to murder.”

Zelensky was not directly referring to the months-long fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the center of repeated Russian attacks that slowly approached the center.

The Ukrainian leader said next week would be important in terms of “our fight for justice.”

He stressed that Kiev is preparing “several important, strong steps to consolidate our partners and give more energy to the establishment of a tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression.” And to hasten the defeat of the terrorist state.”

Earlier, Kiev had identified an 18-month-old baby boy as one of the victims.

“One woman is considered missing. The search continues,” Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said.

Ukraine did not claim the attack on Crimea, but military intelligence suggested it was revenge for Uman.

Andriy Yusov, of the Defense Ministry’s intelligence unit, said it was “God’s punishment, especially for the civilian casualties in Uman.”

He warned people in Crimea not to “go near military facilities and facilities that will supply the aggressor’s army in the near future.”

The attacks are largely led by Wagner’s private army. Its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his troops had advanced between 100 (300 feet) and 150 meters on Saturday, claiming pro-Kyiv units now controlled just three square kilometers (1.2 square miles).

Prigozhin, speaking in a voice message on Telegram, reiterated his complaints that Moscow was not sending his men enough ammunition. Prigozhin has made overly optimistic statements about Wagner’s past military successes, and Reuters was unable to immediately verify his latest claim.

Razvozhayev said the fire in the city’s harbor received the highest rank in terms of how complicated it will be to extinguish. However, he reported that the open fire was under control.

Razvozhayev said the oil depot was attacked by “two enemy drones” and four oil tanks burned down. According to Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov, a third drone was shot down from the air and another drone was disabled by radio-electronic means.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move considered illegal by most of the world. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview this week that his country will try to reclaim the peninsula in the upcoming counter-offensive.

In southern Ukraine, Russian occupation authorities said a key city they control – Novaya Kakhovka – had come under “intense shelling” and been cut off from power.

The city fell to Russian forces on the first day of their invasion on February 24, 2022. It is in the part of the Kherson region that Moscow still controls after withdrawing from the eponymous regional capital last November.

Russian troops urged people in the city to “keep calm” and said work to restore power would begin “after the shelling ends.”

The Novaya Kakhovka shelling came a day after Russian shelling killed a 57-year-old woman in a southern Ukrainian village. Zelensky had promised an answer.

Russia fears an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.

The governor of the Belgorod border region – also hit by several attacks in the course of the war – said on Saturday that five border villages were without power after Ukrainian shelling.

“The power lines are damaged,” Gladkov said, adding that there were no casualties.

Elsewhere, Russia accused Poland – with whom it has historically had poor relations – of a “flagrant violation” of international norms after Warsaw seized a school run by the Russian embassy in the Polish capital.

Moscow called the move an “illegal act” and promised “harsh” consequences.