The Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which has been controlled by the government of Vladimir Putin since 2014, was attacked on Tuesday after a drone bombardment and Russian forces activated their “state of alert”, according to the authorities established by Moscow.
“A drone attack is taking place in Sevastopol. Air defense forces are on duty. According to preliminary data, two drones were shot down.” indicated in Telegram the regional governor installed by Russia, Mikhail Razvozhayev. “Our air defense forces are acting now,” he added, without giving further details about the origin of the aggression for which he blamed Ukraine.
“Ucronazis again tried to attack our Balaklava TPP. Probably, they wanted to synchronize the attack with their terrorist act, which they committed seven years ago, when on November 22 they blew up a power line in the Kherson region and a blackout occurred in Crimea and Sevastopol. It didn’t work out,” he remarked.
The transport of passengers in boats has resumed in the last hours, after the attack in the city set off the alarms and interrupted it momentarily. Security reasons led the Directorate for the Development of Transportation Infrastructure to paralyze its operations.
The state news agency Interfax reported that the authorities ruled out injuries and, instead, asked the population to remain calm. Meanwhile, the representative of the Crimean Tatars (ethnic group), Refat Chubarov, also confirmed that drones had been detected flying over his airspace and that it was Russian troops who shot them down.
However, Chubarov mentioned that the presence of these artifacts may be related to reconnaissance tasks to identify military zones on the peninsula. Earlier this month, drones were shot down over Sevastopol. On the 29th of last month, the Black Sea Fleet dodged an alleged attack with this type of weapon in the area.
The tensions are accentuated just two days after the nine months of the invasion on Ukrainian soil, and while the United States announced a new aid package for kyiv for 4,500 million dollars. The announcement was made by the Treasury Department so that Volodimir Zelensky’s forces could “defend themselves against illegal warfare.”
The Muscovite authorities in the area said a few days ago that they were “fortifying” after the withdrawal of their uniformed officers in the Ukrainian region of Kherson. Russia considers Crimea part of its territory, a deliberation on which the international community keeps its distance. In the framework of the current conflict, Ukraine has expressed its intention to recover it.
They ask Turkey for restraint
One point on which Moscow and Washington do seem to agree is on a call for handling the conflict between Turkey and Syria. The first two urged President Tayyip Erdogan for “restraint” after he threatened to send a ground operation against Kurdish forces in northern Syria.
“We flew over the terrorists for a few days with our air force and our drones. God willing, we will eliminate them soon with our soldiers, guns and tanks.” Erdogan said just days after Istanbul was targeted in an attack that left six dead and more than 80 injured. The attack is attributed to militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the People’s Protection Units.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey launched operations in northern Syria with Kurdish organizations and militias as their main objective.
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*With information from AFP and Europa Press.