In the ever growing grinding war between Russia and Ukraine, the latter has found an unconventional way to make some progress. Ukraine is defacto moving the war into occupied Crimea, a territory who’s status has been hotly contested before.
While it cannot fully dislodge dug in Russian defenders, Ukraine is in the process of hunting down top Russian leadership and Ukrainian collaborators. In a surprise strike, Ukraine decapitated many Russian Naval Officers in the Black Sea area. AP News reports:
Ukraine on Saturday morning launched another missile attack on Sevastopol on the occupied Crimean Peninsula, a Russian-installed official said, a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet that left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering.
Sevastopol was put under an air raid alert for about an hour after debris from intercepted missiles fell near a pier, Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the messaging app Telegram. He later added that another missile fragment fell in a park in northern Sevastopol, parts of which had to be cordoned off. Ferry traffic in the area was also halted and later resumed.
Ukraine has been home to a lot of ethnic Russians prior to 2014, which made its incorporation even more divisive. However, all segments of Ukrainian society have been rallying to the war effort. ABC News reports:
Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Voice of America on Saturday that at least nine people were killed and 16 others wounded as a result of Kyiv’s attack on the Black Sea Fleet on Friday. He claimed that Alexander Romanchuk, a Russian general commanding forces along the key southeastern front line, was “in a very serious condition” following the attack.
Budanov’s claim couldn’t be independently verified, and he didn’t comment on whether Western-made missiles were used in Friday’s attack. The Russian Defense Ministry initially said that the strike killed one service member at the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, but later issued a statement that he was missing.
The vaunted counteroffensive has been incapable of piercing the fortified Russian front lines. Anti-armor technology has advanced to the point of making the infantry key in assaulting the enemy rather than tanks. Going after top commanders is a novel way to demoralize Russian leaders.
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