Russia loses Crimea as naval base: Ukrainian Navy reveals why Moscow still needs peninsula
Photo: Russian warship in the Black Sea (facebook.com/mod.mil.rus)
According to him, Russia can no longer be said to maintain a full-fledged naval basing presence on the peninsula. However, that does not mean Moscow has stopped using Crimea for military purposes.
Ukrainian forces continue to strike military facilities across the peninsula, targeting infrastructure that supports the continued presence of Russian troops in the region.
"Operations are taking place there practically 24/7. These are military infrastructure facilities that enable the Russians to maintain their presence here," the Navy spokesperson said.
He added that Russia's primary capability to influence the situation in the region now lies in its air assets. In other words, Crimea continues to hold military value for Moscow, but no longer as a safe base for warships.
On the night of August 1, Ukraine's Defense Forces carried out strikes on Russian military facilities in occupied Crimea and southern Ukraine.
The targets included a storage site for uncrewed surface vessels in Chornomorske, railway bridges near Chonhar and Vladyslavivka, and a Russian Black Sea Fleet radio-electronic intelligence unit in Sevastopol.
In addition, fighters from the Defense Intelligence's special unit Group 13 recently destroyed a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system and a military crane in temporarily occupied Crimea.
