According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the war in Ukraine must conclude with the liberation of Crimea.
The president of Ukraine spoke after a series of explosions killed one person at a Russian airbase in Ukraine.
Mr. Zelensky did not mention the explosions on Tuesday, but he did say, “Crimea is Ukrainian, and we will never give it up.”
According to the Russian defense ministry, munitions exploded at the base. In the meantime, Ukraine denied any involvement in the explosions.
In a related event, Ukrainian officials report that overnight Russian strikes killed 13 people in the central Dnipropetrovsk region and one person in the southern Zaporizhia region.
Crimea is officially recognized as a part of Ukraine, but Russia illegally annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014 following an unconstitutional referendum. This is viewed by many Ukrainians as the beginning of their conflict with Russia.
On Tuesday, a series of explosions shook the Saky military post near Novofedorivka, in the western portion of the Crimean peninsula, which is close to coastal resorts frequented by Russian visitors.
Novofedorivka and Saky are located approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Sevastopol, the home port of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which has been spearheading a blockade of the Ukrainian shoreline. Russia had exploited the airbase to launch attacks against targets deep within Ukraine.
Social media footage shows beachgoers fleeing as explosions occurred; witnesses reported hearing at least 12 explosions. The Russian-appointed health agency in Crimea reported one civilian death and eight injuries.
The Russian defense ministry stated that the explosions were caused by exploding munitions in a storage facility and that there was no “fire impact” from the outside, but this has not been independently confirmed.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian president, disputed that Ukraine was responsible for the explosions, telling the Dozhd online television program, “Of course not. What is the relevance of this?”
Moscow would take any attack on Crimea by Ukraine extremely seriously. Ex-President Dmitry Medvedev issued a warning to Ukraine last month, stating that “Judgment Day will arrive immediately” if it attacked Crimea.
Mr. Zelensky did not mention the explosions in his speech on Tuesday evening, but he spoke extensively about the peninsula, stating, “We will never forget that the Russian assault against Ukraine began with the seizure of Crimea.
This Russian war…began in Crimea and must conclude with Crimea’s liberation,” he stated.
Mr. Zelensky’s most recent comments imply that he feels Ukraine must recapture the peninsula before the war can cease, but in the past, he has expressed differing opinions on the matter.
Previously, he stated Ukraine could accept peace if Russia returned to their positions by February 24; therefore, recapturing Crimea could be the topic of subsequent negotiations.
An attack on Crimea would be a significant escalation.
If it turns out that Ukraine was responsible for this attack, a massive escalation would ensue. It would be the first big assault on a target within the territory of Crimea.
In June 2022, the Russia-appointed “leader” of Crimea claimed that Ukrainian forces had opened fire on the Black Sea oil drilling platforms in Crimean waters, resulting in multiple casualties. And at the end of July, Russian authorities reported that a drone had injured six people by striking a Russian naval base in the city of Sevastopol.
Crimea is internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory, although Russia has administered the peninsula for the past eight years and has well-established political and military organizations.
Crimea has a quasi-sacred status for the Kremlin, as it is viewed as “historically” Russian territory that Moscow “re-acquired” triumphantly in 2014. Such a deep incursion into Crimean territory would be quite embarrassing for President Putin.
And it is feared that if the Ukrainians begin methodically hitting Russian targets within Crimea, the Russian response might be rather severe.
Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, after the majority-Russian-speaking area chose to join Russia in a referendum deemed unlawful by Ukraine and the West.
After unmarked Russian troops seized control of numerous strategic positions on the peninsula, the voting was swiftly organized.
Months of pro-European protests resulted in the ouster of Ukraine’s Russian-backed president earlier that year.
Moscow started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 of this year, using Crimea as a springboard to advance Russian troops farther into Ukraine.
