[ad_1]
(CNN) The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said late Monday that a Russian Kalibr cruise missile being transported by train in the Russian-occupied Crimean town of Zhankoy was destroyed in an attack.
Ukrainian officials did not directly claim responsibility for the attack, but said it was to “demilitarize Russia and prepare for the deoccupation of Crimea”.
The head of the Russian-installed annexed peninsula, Sergei Askyonov, confirmed that there was a strike and that the region’s air defense system was activated. Askyonov said one person was injured and two buildings were damaged.
An amateur video geolocated by CNN shows the massive explosion and resulting fireball. An individual is heard off-camera saying a strike has hit the station. However, the video did not clearly show what was attacked, and CNN was unable to confirm the exact location of the attack.
Two of Russia’s most important military airfields in Crimea are located in Dzhankoy and Gvardeiskoe, the British Ministry of Defense announced in 2022.
“Dzhankoy is also an important road and rail junction that plays an important role in Russian operations in southern Ukraine,” he said.
Crimea also has an important port and the city of Sevastopol is the main naval base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Some of Russia’s most important warships are anchored there, including surface ships carrying cruise missiles.
The US has previously accused Russia of using cruise missiles launched from Black Sea vessels to attack civilian targets in Ukraine.
annexation of Crimea
Since Russia’s all-out invasion in February 2021, Ukraine has launched multiple attacks against Russian positions in Crimea and an operation the military said destroyed a Russian Kalibr cruise missile.
Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have repeatedly promised to liberate the peninsula annexed to Moscow in 2014…”
The strike follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Crimea on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of its annexation. The visit, which also included a stop in Russian-occupied Mariupol, saw the International Criminal Court accuse the Russian president of committing war crimes in Ukraine and arresting him on charges of plotting to deport Ukrainian children to Russia. A few days after issuing the letter.
The ICC charges are the first formally filed against Moscow officials since it launched its gratuitous attacks on Ukraine last year. The Kremlin condemned the ICC’s actions as “outrageous and unacceptable”.
The strike will come as President Putin welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow. At Monday’s meeting, Xi told Putin that China and Russia have “similar goals” and expressed his support for Putin’s re-election. The war in Ukraine was brought up in the first hours of the talks and is expected to be a key point of discussion for Xi over his three-day visit.
[ad_2]
Source link
