Ukraine Mocks Russia After Explosions at Crimean Air Base
By Isabel Coles and Ann M. Simmons, Aug. 10, 2022, WSJ

Russian state TV largely ignored the incident, but some prominent pro-Kremlin propagandists expressed irritation. Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of state-controlled media organizations RT and Rossiya Segodnya, called for calm and continued support
for Moscow’s military.

“Whatever happens, your duty is to support your country, your people and your army,” she said on Telegram. “Don’t whine. Don’t panic. Don’t criticize. Support!”

Popular TV host Vladimir Solovyov expressed frustration that Ukraine, which he blamed for attacking Crimea, was being allowed to get away with such acts of aggression.

“What, are we crazy? The red lines we are trying to draw, what are they about?” he said in a clip of his show posted on Telegram on Wednesday. “I really want to understand. What is the red line now? Are they supposed to bomb Moscow?”

A spokesman for Ukraine’s Air Force Command said that Russia had kept a number of warplanes at the base. The intensity of the blast indicated that an aircraft weapons depot had been struck, he said. “And if additionally a dozen planes are destroyed
there, it will be a real victory,” Yuriy Ihnat told a local TV station.

Russian officials said no aircraft had been destroyed.

“Visual evidence proves Russia lost at least 4 Su-30SMs [multirole aircraft] and 7 Su-24M(R)s [strike/tactical reconnaissance aircraft] at Saki air base,” according to Oryx, an open-source site that tracks military-equipment losses.

On Wednesday, local authorities loyal to Russia started assessing the damage to homes and other infrastructure around the Novofedorivka air force base, which borders a popular tourist resort.

Vladislav Khadzhiev, chairman of the Saki district council where the base is located, told Russia’s state news agency, TASS, that a damage assessment would be carried out in the village of Novofedorivka “when it will be possible to enter each
apartment,” he said.

Later in the day, Crimea’s governor, Sergei Aksyonov, said on Telegram that the situation in Novofedorivka has been “recognized as a municipal emergency.” More than 250 people were at a temporary housing center and as many as 62 apartment buildings
and 20 commercial structures had been damaged, he said. He said that the main repair work that would allow residents to return to their homes was scheduled to be completed within 10 days. Russia has opened a criminal case into the explosions, he said.

Ukrainian officials mocked Russia over the explosions. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said on Facebook that it couldn’t determine the cause of the explosions, but warned of the dangers of igniting fires by careless smoking.

“The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine would like to remind everyone that the presence of occupying troops on the territory of Ukrainian Crimea is not compatible with the high tourist season,” the ministry said in a tweet.

Ukraine’s southern command posted a mocked-up postage stamp showing two fires on the bridge Russia built to link its mainland with Crimea. “On sale soon,” read the caption.

Tweets by Ukrainian companies that tagged themselves on Twitter in a photograph of Crimea—suggesting they would be returning soon—went viral.

Dmytro Marchenko, major general of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said it would be necessary to destroy the bridge linking the peninsula to the Russian mainland to retake Crimea. “Crimea is Ukraine, it is our land, and there are our people there who are
still forced to sit under occupation. No one gave Russia the right to come, take a piece of land and say that ‘this is mine.’”

Local residents were evacuated following the blasts. Video footage showed beachgoers watching as smoke billowed over the horizon from the site. The base includes ammunition and fuel depots and is one of the largest Russian military installations in the
region.

Ukraine’s military said Wednesday that nine enemy planes were destroyed in the previous 24 hours, without specifying where. One person was killed and 12 wounded, the Crimean Health Ministry said. The governor said 14 were wounded.

The blasts in Crimea occurred as Ukraine seeks to roll back Russian gains in the south of the country. The southern operational command said Ukrainian forces had destroyed a Russian ammunition depot in the Kherson region. In recent weeks, Kyiv has sought
to isolate Russian forces there by striking bridges and other infrastructure to hinder resupply.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian forces said a strike disabled a bridge near the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in Kherson.

Russia has requested a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Thursday in connection with attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to TASS.

Ukraine has accused Russia of shelling in the vicinity of the plant. Russia in turn has blamed Kyiv’s forces for launching strikes on the facility.

The plant has been controlled by the Russians since the early days of the war, but Ukrainian staff are still operating it. Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations on Wednesday urged Russia to hand back full control of the plant to Ukraine. “It
is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region,” they said in a joint statement.

Despite the hostilities, a deal to allow the passage of grain is holding up. Corn, sunflower oil, flour and soybeans have sailed on 12 ships from Ukrainian ports since Aug. 1, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-mocks-russia-after-explosions-at-crimean-air-base-11660123645

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)