Chris Lange, FISM News
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The Kremlin-backed governor of Crimea’s largest city claimed that Russia’s Black Sea fleet repelled a drone attack after a trio of explosions rocked the Sevastopol harbor off the coast of the peninsula early Monday.
Newsweek reported that Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels both published a dramatic video of what appeared to show the moment a naval drone was shot down over the Black Sea.
Moscow’s forces have been scrambling to fortify the peninsula since last April amid fears of a Ukrainian advance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy listed reclaiming the Crimean Peninsula as part of Ukraine’s defensive objective to rid the country of all Russian occupiers. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, though the international community does not recognize its sovereignty.
Monday’s Sevastopol explosions were preceded by a report from U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) that Kyiv’s military forces had succeeded in establishing positions on the eastern side of the Dnieper River. According to the ISW’s “special edition assessment” of the Russian invasion published Sunday, geolocated footage shared by pro-war Russian military bloggers appeared to show that Ukrainian troops had established fortified positions and “stable supply lines” near Oleshky.
This report outlines the current #Russian order of battle in #Ukraine, assesses offensive and defensive capabilities of Russian forces, and discusses major factors that may complicate Russian operations in the event of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.https://t.co/vPiGkHRJPi pic.twitter.com/GCgJQ4dpBd
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) April 24, 2023
The town in the southern Kherson oblast serves as a land corridor along the Dnieper River linking Russia to Crimea. Analysts have said for months that a spring Ukrainian counteroffensive would likely include efforts to break through Russian positions there, fueling speculation that the counterattack had already begun.
Less than a week ago, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said that Kyiv’s forces had already begun taking some counteroffensive actions against the Russian invaders.
Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for Ukraine’s Operational Command South, declined to remark on the ISW report when pressed on the subject by Ukrainian media reporters. She stressed that, for operational and security reasons, the details of military operations could not be shared and urged patience.
Speaking on Ukrainian television, Humeniuk added that it was “very difficult work” when “it’s necessary to overcome an obstacle such as the Dnieper, when the front line passes through a wide and powerful river,” per The Associated Press.
The Russian-installed regional governor in Kherson – one of four territories Russia illegally annexed in September – denied that Ukrainian forces had established a foothold on the east bank of the Dnieper.
Governor Vladimir Saldo declared that Russian forces are “in full control” of the area and mocked the images referenced in the ISW report as Ukrainian saboteurs who “managed to take a selfie” across the Dnieper.
MOSCOW OFFICIAL THREATENS PULL-OUT OF BLACK SEA GRAIN DEAL AS G7 LEADERS MULL EXPORT BAN
Former Russian president and Putin confidante Dmitry Medvedev vowed that Moscow would shut down the Black Sea Grain deal if the Group of Seven nations decide to ban exports to Russia.
The G7 countries – the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, and Japan – are reportedly considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia. Sanctions imposed on Moscow up to this point have primarily centered around blocking Russian imports to blunt the flow of funds to the country’s war machine. The sanctions currently under consideration would even further reduce the number of goods sold to Russia.
“This idea from the idiots at the G7 about a total ban of exports to our country by default is beautiful in that it implies a reciprocal ban on imports from our country,” Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel. “In such a case, the grain deal – and many other things that they need – will end for them,” he added.
The ever-threatened U.N.-brokered Black Sea Grain deal between Ukraine and Russia has allowed both countries to export food products relied upon by much of the developing world.
WAGNER LEADER ISSUES DIRECTIVE: STOP TAKING POWs AND ‘KILL EVERYONE’ INSTEAD
Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin announced in a video message posted to social media Sunday that he has instructed his fighters to stop capturing Ukrainian prisoners of war and to kill them immediately.
“We will kill everyone on the battlefield. “Take no more prisoners of the war!” Prigozhin said Sunday in a video message posted on social media.
The Wagner leader cited an “intercepted conversation” between two Ukrainian soldiers about a Russian POW they decided to kill as the reason for the directive.