17 August 2022, Wednesday, 09:58 558

Explosions in Crimea disrupt RF’s logistics, cause considerable damage to occupiers – ISW

Редактор: Roman Vaniyan

The explosions at Russian military facilities in Dzhankoi district of Crimea on August 16 caused significant damage and seriously disrupted the supply chain of the Russian army.

That follows from a statement by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

"Local reports and videos show a series of explosions at a Russian ammunition depot and a transformer substation in Dzhankoi district, as well as at an airfield near Hvardiiske. Russian forces used Dzhankoi as a railway hub to transfer troops and equipment to occupied settlements in the south, including Melitopol," analysts noted.

It is also noted that Ukrainian forces have not officially claimed responsibility for the incidents, but The New York Times, citing an anonymous source, reported that "an elite Ukrainian unit operating behind enemy lines" was behind the explosions.

"The Ukrainian strike on logistics facilities in Crimea, which is the sovereign territory of Ukraine, does not violate Ukraine's obligations to its Western partners regarding the use of Western-supplied weapons," the ISW emphasized, adding that there are no signs of the use of U.S.-supplied weapons by the Armed Forces of Ukraine recent strikes on Crimea.

Military analysts believe that the attacks on Russian positions in and around Crimea are likely part of a series of counter-offensives by Ukraine to regain control of the west bank of the Dnieper.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in the morning of August 16, explosions were heard in Dzhankoi district of Crimea temporarily occupied by Russia.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was informed about an outbreak in the territory of a collapsed site for the temporary storage of ammunition in a military unit. According to the "head" of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, two civilians were injured as a result of the detonation in Dzhankoi district.

On Tuesday, August 9, a series of powerful explosions occurred in the territory of the Russian military airfield in the settlement of Novofedorivka in the occupied Crimea.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the explosions were allegedly caused by the detonation of several aviation munitions.