Crimea attacks may mark new front

Russia has used peninsula as staging ground after seizing land in 2014

A spate of explosions and fires has turned Russian-occupied Crimea from a secure rear base into a new battleground in the war, demonstrating both the Russians’ vulnerability and the Ukrainians’ capacity to strike deep behind enemy lines.

Nine Russian warplanes were reported destroyed at an airbase in Crimea last week, and an ammunition depot on the peninsula blew up on Tuesday.

Ukrainian authorities have stopped short of publicly claiming responsibility, preferring to keep the world guessing, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alluded to Ukrainian attacks behind enemy lines after the latest blasts, which Russia blamed on “sabotage.”

Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and has used it as a staging ground for attacks on the country in the war that began Feb. 24. Ukrainian authorities have vowed to recapture Crimea and other occupied territories.

The explosions represent the latest setback for Moscow, which began its invasion with hopes of taking Kyiv in a lightning offensive but soon became bogged down in the face of fierce resistance. As the war nears the six-month mark, the two sides are engaged in a grinding war of attrition, fighting village to village, largely in the country’s east.

The attacks in Crimea may mark the opening of a new front that would represent a significant escalation in the war and could further stretch Russia’s resources.

“Russian commanders will highly likely be increasingly concerned with the apparent deterioration in security across Crimea, which functions as rear base area for the occupation,” Britain’s Defense Ministry wrote on Twitter.

As a result of the airfield attacks, Russia is moving dozens of warplanes and helicopters to deeper positions in Crimea and to Russian bases elsewhere, Ukrainian military intelligence reported.

Tuesday’s explosions ripped through an ammunition site near the town of Dzhankoi, forcing the evacuation of about 3,000 people. Munitions continued to explode Wednesday and authorities fought the fires with a helicopter, said Crimea’s regional leader, Sergei Aksyonov. He said a search for the perpetrators was underway.

The Kommersant business paper also reported explosions Tuesday at a Crimean base in Gvardeyskoye. There was no confirmation from the Russians. The British intelligence report said Gvardeyskoye and Dzhankoi are home to two of the most important Russian military airfields in Crimea.

Nine Russian warplanes were reported destroyed at an airbase in Crimea last week, and an ammunition depot on the peninsula blew up on Tuesday