Ukraine observes: Russia reacts to Crimean explosions - probably partial withdrawal of valuable equipment
Created: 08/19/2022, 05:00
By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi, Stephanie Munk, Andreas Schmid, Felix Durach
There were several explosions in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Putin's army is now probably reacting with a partial withdrawal.
The news ticker on the military situation in the Ukraine war.
Dead and injured
by rockets on
Kharkiv
: Zelenskyj complains of "cynical attack on civilians"
Ukraine
warns of
Russian provocation
: Russian troops are apparently distributing leaflets in Melitopol.
Crimean
attacks as part of a broader
counter-offensive
: the aim is apparently increasingly Russia's logistics.
This news ticker has ended.
You can find the current
news ticker on military events
in the Ukraine war here.
Update from August 18, 9:55 a.m .:
The Russian Ministry of Defense has denied the stationing of heavy weapons near the Ukrainian Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
“Russian troops have no heavy weapons either on the territory of the power plant or in the surrounding areas.
There are only guards there," the ministry said.
Russia, on the other hand, accuses Kyiv of preparing a "provocation" at the nuclear power plant during the visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to Ukraine - in order to then be able to accuse Moscow of "creating a man-made catastrophe".
Ukraine has deployed troops to the area and plans to launch an artillery attack on the nuclear power plant from the city of Nikopol on Friday while Guterres visits the city of Odessa.
"Responsibility for the consequences" should then be shifted to "the Russian armed forces".
A Russian soldier guards an area of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine.
© Uncredited/AP/dpa
The Russian army has occupied the nuclear power plant since March, and it has been repeatedly shelled since the end of July.
Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for the attacks.
A nuclear catastrophe is feared at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urgently requested an inspection of the facility by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday.
The fact that Russian troops control the facility creates "the risk of a nuclear accident or incident."
Stoltenberg also accused Russia of carrying out attacks on Ukrainian positions from the area around the nuclear power plant.
Ukraine observes: Russia reacts to Crimean explosions - probably partial withdrawal of valuable equipment
Update from August 18, 7:20 a.m.:
There have been several explosions in the past few days in Crimea, which is occupied by Russia.
Now the Russian air force is apparently trying to bring fighter jets and helicopters to safety on the peninsula.
According to the Ukrainian secret service, some of the planes would be transferred to the interior of the peninsula annexed in 2014, while others would be withdrawn to the Russian mainland.
The transfer of at least 24 aircraft and 14 helicopters was observed.
This information from Kyiv could not be checked.
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This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows damaged Russian aircraft at Saki Air Force Base after an explosion on August 10, 2022. © Uncredited/Maxar Technologies/AP/dpa
Dead and injured by rockets on Kharkiv - Zelenskyj: "Cynic attack on civilians"
Update from August 18, 6:30 a.m .:
The Russian army fired rockets at the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Wednesday evening (August 17), killing at least seven people and injuring another 16.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a skyscraper was hit.
Media reported that a cruise missile had struck and set the house on fire.
Kharkiv had been heavily shelled by Russian artillery the night before.
Russian missiles fired at Ukraine from Russia's Belgorod region can be seen at dawn.
© Vadim Belikov/AP/dpa
Zelenskyj spoke on Telegram of a "mean and cynical attack on civilians for which there is no justification and which only shows the helplessness of the aggressor".
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba tweeted about the shelling of Kharkiv, commenting: "Russia continues to slaughter people in the heart of Europe."
Update from August 17, 10 p.m.:
Ukraine is preparing for Russian rocket attacks on the capital Kiev on its Independence Day on August 24.
So said the presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych, who often comments on military issues.
However, this will not change anything in the military situation, he said after reports in Kyiv.
Rather, it would be "a purely emotional gesture to kill more civilians and ruin our holiday."
But Ukraine also has the means to ruin the day for the Russians, said Arestovych, recalling the series of explosions at Russian military installations on the Crimean peninsula.
"It will be much worse for them there in the event of an attack than for us here," he threatened.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian intelligence said the Russian air force was trying to evacuate fighter jets and helicopters to safety in Crimea after several explosions.
Some of the aircraft would be transferred to the interior of the peninsula annexed in 2014, and some would be withdrawn to the Russian mainland.
The transfer of at least 24 aircraft and 14 helicopters was observed.
The information from Kyiv could not be verified.
Ukraine War: Russian Successes in Donbass
Update from August 17, 7:05 p.m .:
In the Ukraine war, the Russian troops in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk made minor gains in territory.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff report, the Russians recorded successes at Opytne in northern Donetsk and at Novomykhaylivka in the south-west.
On other sections, Russian attacks were repelled.
Villages north of Sloviansk and to the east and south of the cities of Soledar and Bakhmut were mentioned.
Russian attacks were also repulsed southwest of Wuhledar.
Russian advances in the Kharkiv and Cherson regions also failed.
Along the entire front line, Ukrainian positions were shelled with artillery near several dozen towns.
There were almost a dozen Russian airstrikes.
Ukraine warns of Russian provocation - "will never shoot at population"
Update from August 17, 7 p.m.:
Ukraine has warned of Russian provocations in the city of Melitopol in the south of the country, which is occupied by Russian troops.
This was reported by the Ukrainian news agency
Unian
, citing the Strategic Communications Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"Most likely, Russia is preparing a major provocation in Melitopol," it said in a message on the Messenger service Telegram.
For example, Russian troops would distribute leaflets to the population telling them to protect themselves against fire from "Himars" rockets.
These are US-made multiple rocket launchers that were delivered to Ukraine.
With this, according to the Strategic Communications Department, Russia wants to hold Ukraine responsible for future shelling of civilians and say: "We warned you." The message on Telegram underlined: "Don't believe the Russian propaganda.
The Ukrainian army has never and never will shoot at the population!”
Ukraine-News: Renewed Russian attacks on Mykolaiv - 30 buildings damaged
Update from August 17, 5 p.m.:
Russian troops continued attacks on the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.
Around 30 buildings were damaged in the night-time shelling of the city, the Ukrainian state agency
Ukrinform reported
, citing Mayor Oleksandr Sienkovich.
The city's university was also targeted by Russian attacks with two S-300 missiles, according to the mayor.
Mykolaiv is now one of the main targets of the Russian military in the war of aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine-News: Russia considers Crimean explosions to be sabotage and reports arrests
Update from August 17, 2:11 p.m
.: Russia speaks of an “act of sabotage” in the course of the explosions in Crimea.
The attacks on the Black Sea island annexed by Russia could be part of the Ukrainian counter-offensive (see previous update).
According to the governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, Russia has now arrested those allegedly responsible.
Aksyonov spoke of members of a six-strong "terrorist cell".
"They were all detained," Aksyonov wrote on Telegram.
"The activities of the terrorists, as was to be expected, were coordinated from the territory of the terrorist state of Ukraine."
They are said to be members of a group banned in Russia.
Its name: Hizb ut-Tahrir - an Islamist group.
The Russian secret service FSB confirmed the arrest on Wednesday afternoon.
It is said to be six men.
The FSB did not announce who exactly the people arrested are.
It is not known whether those suspected of being arrested are linked to the detonations on Tuesday (16 August) in the north of the peninsula, or to last week's explosions in western Crimea.
Crimea attacks as part of broader counter-offensive - target increases Russia's logistics
Update from August 17, 10:50 a.m
.: The explosions in an ammunition depot in Crimea could unsettle Russia;
argues the British Ministry of Defence.
"The cause and extent of the damage are still unclear," says the current management report.
"But Russian commanders will most likely become increasingly concerned about the apparent deterioration in security in Crimea, which serves as a rear base for the crew."
A week after the explosions at a Russian air base in Crimea, another munitions depot on the Russian-annexed peninsula caught fire.
Moscow spoke of "sabotage".
According to an assessment by the think tank Institute for the Study of War, the attacks could be aimed at interrupting Russia's supplies to the Ukraine front.
Accordingly, Ukrainian attacks are currently also targeting bridges in the Dnipro and Russian logistics elements in the Cherson region.
According to the US experts, the attacks in Crimea would fit in with this - even if involvement has not been confirmed.
The aim of Ukraine could therefore be to regain control of the west bank of the Dnipro River in the end, since the Russian units can no longer be adequately supplied.
This video still from Russian television RU-RTR shows a police officer blocking the way to the site of an explosion (rear,l) at a Russian army ammunition dump near the village of Mayskoye in Crimea.
© dpa/RU-RTR Russian Television
Russian successes in Donbass: troops can “advance further” in the border area
Update from August 17, 9.45 a.m
.: In the Ukraine war, Russia is concentrating on the Donbass border region, among other things.
Now the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces has admitted that Putin's troops are "continuing to advance" in the border area.
According to the US broadcaster CNN, General Valeriy Saluschnyj spoke of an "intense" situation, which was "completely under control".
On the sidelines of a meeting with the chief of the Canadian defense staff, Zalushny said that “the enemy (Russia, ed.) continues to advance along the entire front line.
At the same time, the enemy shells our positions with about 700-800 shells a day, using 40-60 thousand pieces of ammunition."
Russia is primarily shelling an area 25 kilometers west of Donetsk: the Avdiivka-Pisky-Mariinka axis.
"This is where the situation is currently most intense."
Update from August 17, 6:18 a.m .:
On Tuesday evening, the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was hit again by numerous Russian shells.
The Russian army used multiple rocket launchers, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.
Walls were shattered and windows destroyed by impacts next to a residential building.
According to preliminary information, there are no victims.
“Night lies ahead of us, the usual time for attacks on Kharkiv.
Be careful!” Terekhov warned the townspeople.
Shortly after the start of the war at the end of February, Russian troops entered Ukraine's second largest city, but were repelled.
After that, the Ukrainian army continued to push the Russians back.
However, the city is still within range of Russian artillery.
Ukraine war: Crimea explosions likely Ukrainian operation “behind enemy lines”
Update from August 16, 4:11 p.m .:
The explosion that occurred on the Crimean peninsula on Tuesday is said to have been the result of a military operation behind enemy lines.
This is reported by the US newspaper
New York Times
with reference to an anonymous Ukrainian official.
Special units of the Ukrainian army are said to be responsible for the incidents.
This information cannot currently be independently verified.
The head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, described the explosions in the online service Telegram as early as noon as an "operation 'demilitarization'" and praised them as a "masterpiece of the Ukrainian armed forces".
These would continue their work until all Ukrainian territories were "completely liberated".
Smoke billows over an ammunition dump on the Crimean peninsula after an explosion on Tuesday.
© Sergei Malgavko/imago-images
Reports of another explosion in Crimea – Moscow speaks of an “act of sabotage”
Update from August 16, 1:45 p.m .:
After the explosion on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, the Russian Ministry of Defense is now talking about an “act of sabotage”.
A number of civilian objects were damaged, including power lines, a power plant and railway tracks, as well as some residential buildings, it said.
There are no serious injuries.
Everything will be done to eliminate the consequences.
It was initially unclear who was responsible for the explosion.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian portal
The Kyiv Independent
reports with reference to Russian media reports
of further explosions in Crimea.
The explosions are said to have occurred at a military base in the village of Hvardiiske near the regional capital Simferopol.
The base is therefore almost 93 kilometers away from the ammunition depot where the explosions occurred on Tuesday morning.
However, the information cannot currently be independently verified.
Explosion at Russian base in Crimea: Ukraine with a meaningful hint
Update from August 16, 12:41 p.m .:
The head of the Presidential Office in Ukraine, Adrij Yermak, has indicated that the Ukrainian military is responsible for the explosion in Crimea on Tuesday morning.
"Ukrainian armed forces continue delicate 'demilitarization' operation to completely rid our country of Russian invaders," Zelenskyy's confidante tweeted on Tuesday.
"Crimea is part of Ukraine," Yermak wrote.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the explosion was triggered by a fire at an ammunition depot.
According to current information, two people were injured in the incident.
The explosion is also said to have an impact on train services in Crimea.
The trains from Moscow should only go as far as Vladislavowka.
From there we continued by bus to the Crimean capital Simferopol.
2000 people are said to have been evacuated from the surrounding area.
Shoigu denies the effectiveness of the West's "super weapon".
Update from August 16, 11:50 a.m .:
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu downgraded the effects of US arms sales to Ukraine to participants at a security conference in Moscow.
The supplied Himars multiple rocket launchers would not have a "significant impact" on the war in Ukraine.
These weapon systems were staged by the West as "super weapons" for the fight against Russia, Shoigu explains further.
However, this is not the case.
Various experts had reported in recent weeks that weapon systems like Himar could change the course of the war.
Precisely because of their long range, the rocket launchers allow the Ukrainian armed forces to take aim at strategic Russian targets from a safe distance.
The truthfulness of Schoigu's statements cannot currently be checked against this background either.
Russian Black Sea Fleet appears to be taking “defensive stance” after losses
Update from August 16, 11:05 a.m .:
The British Ministry of Defense sees the Russian Black Sea Fleet as severely weakened in the ongoing Ukraine war.
While Russian ships continue to fire long-range missiles, the fleet is having trouble maintaining naval supremacy.
It was weakened primarily by the loss of its flagship Moskva, a significant number of its aircraft and control of Snake Island.
This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in its daily report.
As a consequence, according to British military experts, the risk of Russian troops landing in the strategically important port city of Odessa has largely been averted.
"This means Ukraine can move resources to put pressure on Russian ground forces elsewhere," the British concluded.
In general, the fleet would adopt a “defensive stance” in the current phase.
According to London, the Russian ships are only partially able to effectively support Moscow's invasion efforts in Ukraine.
The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope
View photo gallery
Another explosion on the Crimean peninsula: the causes are currently unclear
First report from August 16:
Moscow - According to the Russian army, there was another explosion on Tuesday morning on the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
The fire is said to have broken out at around 5:15 a.m. at a makeshift ammunition storage facility at a base in the Dzhankoy district in the north of the peninsula.
A nearby substation is also said to be affected.
Crimea chief of administration Sergey Aksyonov said on site that there were two injured.
The Russian Ministry of Defense must comment on the reasons for the detonation, he said.
"An evacuation is underway, and a five-kilometer security zone is being formed for the safety of residents," the governor said.
Defense Department, National Guard and Civil Defense forces are deployed.
Last week there was a serious explosion at a military base in Crimea.
According to official figures, 14 people were injured in the incident.
Another person died.
Experts believe Ukraine struck the base, destroying several fighter jets.
Kyiv has not officially confirmed the attack.
Russia, on the other hand, claims the explosion occurred because of fire safety violations.
Presidential adviser Podolyak: "Increased risk of death for invaders" in Crimea
The government in Kyiv also did not officially comment on the explosion on Tuesday.
However, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter on Tuesday morning that there was an “increased risk of death for invaders and thieves” in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Last week, the
US government also confirmed the delivery of anti-radar missiles to Ukraine
.
Depending on the type, these AGM-88 HARM missiles have a range of 150 kilometers.
Selenskyj calls on Moscow again to withdraw from Zaporizhia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not yet commented on the incident.
However, the 44-year-old was again concerned on Monday evening with regard to the situation around the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is still occupied by Russian troops.
In his daily video speech, Zelenskyy again called on Moscow to withdraw from the reactor site.
"Any radioactive incident at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant could also become a blow to the countries of the European Union and Turkey and Georgia and the countries of more distant regions," the head of state said.
(fd with dpa)
