Russian irredentism

Russian authorities reported shooting down Ukrainian drones Saturday in Crimea, while Ukrainian officials said Russian forces pressed ahead with efforts to seize one of the few cities in eastern Ukraine not already under their control. The Russian military also kept up its strikes in Ukraine's north and south.

This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Ryabkov for the TV channel "Russia 1".
The diplomat pointed out that Moscow does not want the US to become one of the parties in the Ukrainian conflict, but that Washington refuses to listen to warnings for the time being.

Pavel Filatyev knew the consequences of what he was saying. The ex-paratrooper understood he was risking prison, that he would be called a traitor in public.

"This is just the beginning," the Ukrainians told Vladimir Putin after a series of spectacular attacks they carried out in Crimea, which is controlled by the Russians, writes "The Times."

Officials of the Biden administration have known for months that Putin is gathering tens of thousands of troops and sending tanks along the Ukrainian border, the Washington Post writes.

Explosions and fires ripped through an ammunition depot in Russian-occupied Crimea on Tuesday in the second suspected Ukrainian attack on the peninsula in just over a week, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.

Russia blamed the blasts in the village of Mayskoye on an "act of sabotage," without naming the perpetrators.

Ukraine said Wednesday that nine Russian warplanes were destroyed in a deadly string of explosions at an air base in Crimea that appeared to be the result of a Ukrainian attack, which would represent a significant escalation in the war.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Explosions hit Russian military airbase in annexed Crimea

One person has been killed and several others wounded in an explosion at a military airbase in the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula.

Witnesses said they heard at least 12 explosions around 3:20 p.m. local time (12:20 GMT) from the Saki Air Base near Novofedorovka on the peninsula's west coast.
Crimea, a holiday destination for many Russians, has so far been spared the bombing and artillery fire that other areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have suffered.

And at this moment, the priority is the uninterrupted supply of ammunition, said Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
in Pentagon, Colin Kahl.
According to him, Ukraine received 16 HIMARS launchers from the USA, three identical M270 systems from Great Britain, while Germany is preparing to transfer three more.