War in Ukraine, live: Zelensky asks residents of occupied areas not to approach Russian military bases – Le Monde

Stayed away from the fighting since the launch of the Russian offensive in Ukraine on February 24, the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, is in the sights of the Ukrainian army. After a first attack, on August 9, on the military airfield of Saky, located to the west of this territory, violent explosions again shook, on Tuesday August 16, a Russian base installed in the district of Djankoï, in the north -east of the region. Theoretically, the sites targeted in Crimea for ten days are beyond the reach of the Ukrainian army. Both the Saky air base and the Djankoï depot are located more than 200 kilometers from the front. Far too far for the US-delivered Himars multiple rocket launchers, which were supplied with projectiles no further than 80 kilometers. If the hypotheses of attacks by drones or infiltrated special forces do not appeal to experts, that of Ukrainian-made missiles “boosted” by allied countries is favored by part of the military community. Some mention in particular the existence of “two or three launchers” produced by Yuzhnoye Design Office, a Ukrainian aerospace industrialist, which would be capable of firing ballistic missiles equipped with “friendly” guidance systems. These attacks respond in particular to a political objective: to show that Ukraine has not given up on Crimea, despite eight years of Russian occupation. “It boosts the morale of the Ukrainians in an extraordinary way,” notes Tetyana Ogarkova, head of the international department at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center in kyiv. By striking so far, in a region popular with many Russians for their holidays, kyiv is also sending a message to Russian public opinion. To read: Crimea caught up in the war