Crimean Command Center Destroyed in Ukraine Air Force Strike: Kyiv

A Russian air base in Crimea was destroyed in a strike by Ukraine, the country's air force commander has said, as Kyiv continues to step up its attacks on the occupied peninsula.

"All targets have been destroyed!" General Mykola Oleschuk wrote on Telegram about the strike on the Saky air base. "I again thank our pilots for great work!" Oleschuk's post next to a purported drone image of the site said that the strike had successfully taken out a Russian command center.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry by email about Ukraine's claims, which come after local media reported up to 10 explosions took place overnight on Friday night near the city of Yevpatoria, which is 13 miles northeast of the Saky air base. Newsweek has as yet to verify these figures.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry (MOD) said that its air defense units had managed to intercept four guided missiles flying over occupied Crimea on Saturday, without providing evidence.

"An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using aircraft guided missiles against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped," the Russian MOD statement on Telegram said.

Moscow-installed authorities said that they had to shut down the Crimean Bridge, which has been the scene of many attacks during the war started by Vladimir Putin in February 2022.

On Thursday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported a successful strike against a Russian command post and ammunition warehouses near Crimea's main city of Sevastopol.

Ukraine's Armed Forces did not provide details on the consequences of the attack, but members of the Atesh partisan movement said that Ukrainian forces had hit a radar system and control center, the National Resistance Center reported.

The center described how Atesh guerrillas had conducted reconnaissance at the attack site and said that a crucial Russian military control center, which was "responsible for a secure communication channel with the Kremlin," was hit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told British weekly newspaper The Economist this month that Ukraine's immediate war goals included driving back Russian vessels in the Black Sea, where Kyiv has successfully hit Russian targets. Zelensky also said that a focus was "to continue success in Crimea."

Over the second half of 2023, Kyiv increased its attacks on the peninsula, successfully targeting Russia's Black Sea Fleet and striking key infrastructure in the region, such as the Kerch Strait Bridge between Crimea and mainland Russia.

Zelensky told the newspaper that isolating Crimea is extremely important for Ukraine because it can help reduce the number of attacks from the region.

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