The Russian governor for Crimea, Sergei Aksionov, said on Friday that Russia is working to strengthen its defenses in Crimea, the peninsula that Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as fears grow that Ukrainian authorities may have aim to recover it. “The security of the Republic of Crimea and its people is ensured through measures taken on behalf of our President,” Aksionov said. “The joint work of the authorities, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and law enforcement agencies is aimed at ensuring that Crimeans can feel calm.” Despite Aksyonov’s insistence that there will be calm in Crimea, civilians in Crimea are reportedly starting to read between the lines and flee as fears grow that Ukraine may be serious about reclaiming Crimea, according to Emil Ibragimov , head of educational platform Q-Hub. Ibrahimov told Radio NV that people are fleeing to the Russian region of Krasnodar to avoid any fallout, according to Newsweek. “So we see this trend and we can conclude that this is, of course, panic and fear that the [Ukraine] The Armed Forces will be able to liberate Crimea in the near future,” Ibragimov said. Aksyonov’s attempt to create the narrative that Crimea will hold comes at a time when Russia’s plan to take over Ukraine looks shakier than ever. Increasingly, Russian officials are questioning the judgment and war plans of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Counterattacks by Ukrainian forces across Ukraine have forced Russia to retreat from many enclaves it had seized during the conflict this year. Just earlier this month, Ukrainian forces pushed Russian troops out of Kherson — a key city that was Russia’s last stronghold west of the Dnieper River — which Ukrainian officials see as a precursor to retaking Crimea. Kherson is just north of Crimea, and a loss there represents a major loss for Putin’s dream of creating a land bridge from Russia to Crimea, as well as providing further incursions into Ukrainian territory. The loss of Kherson also signals to the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the time may be right to go after Crimea and push Russia out, according to The Daily Beast. The official in charge of Russia’s recapture of Crimea in the Zelenskyi administration, Tamila Tasheva, told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview earlier this month that the seizure of Kherson is a precursor to the recapture of Crimea and that the Zelenskyi administration looks more and more to the military. component of the expulsion of Russia. “We understand that it’s really connected — the annexation of Crimea — it’s connected to the situation on the battlefield, in the southern part of Ukraine, especially to the annexation of Kherson,” Tasheva told the Daily Beast. And while diplomacy is key to reclaiming Crimea, “we too [talk] for another mechanism of dispossession, including, of course, the military components of dispossession,” Tasheva added. Zelensky said in an interview Thursday with Bloomberg that there will be no peace until Ukraine takes back Crimea. “A simple ceasefire will not do the trick,” he said. Russia has indeed focused attention on Crimea in recent days, according to a British intelligence analysis released on Friday. “We have to show endurance” “Following the withdrawal of their forces west of the Dnipro River, Russian forces continue to prioritize reconstruction, reorganization and defense preparation in most sectors of Ukraine,” the intelligence analysis said. “Units have constructed new trench systems near the Crimean border, as well as near the Siversky-Donets River between Donetsk and Luhansk regions.” The particularly limited number of fixed roads and railways in this region could make it vulnerable to Ukrainian targeting, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, Ukrainian forces are still not working on the eastern bank of the river. The renewed attention to Crimea comes as Ukrainian forces gain ground across Ukraine and as the Russian leadership becomes increasingly aware of how ill-prepared the military is to respond to Ukraine and its continued military aid from the West, given poor logistics support and execution of Russia’s battle plans by the authorities. days of war. Russia’s response has been a frenzied attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, in an apparent attempt to use what little power it has left to deprive Ukraine of energy resources during the winter, analysts say. Russia launched attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure after several attacks against Crimean military entities in October. While Russian forces continue their attacks in Bakhmut, Avdiivka and southwest of Donetsk city, in the last 24 hours Russia has been shelling Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions. in the regional military administrations. Earlier this week, Russia fired nearly 100 missiles into Ukraine in one of the largest attacks believed to be this year. Recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure have knocked out about 50 percent of Ukraine’s energy system, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmihal said. An emergency shutdown is expected in the coming hours and into the weekend, state energy company Ukrenergo said in a statement on Friday. The dire situation coincides with the first snow in Ukraine, in a signal that tougher winter days are ahead. According to Politico, Ukrainian officials are beginning to fear that they may not be able to recover from some attacks on energy infrastructure in the near future. Poland is bracing for an influx of Ukrainian refugees as the winter months settle in and Ukraine may become increasingly unlivable, according to local reports. Ukrainians should be resilient in the coming days if Russia continues its campaign, Ukrenergo warned on Friday. “The curtailment of consumption is a consequence of Russian rocket attacks on Ukraine’s energy system,” Ukrenergo said on Friday. “This winter, we must show endurance and courage to face the enemy on the energy front.” Shmyhal added on Friday that Ukraine has imported nearly 9,000 generator sets to try to help ease energy supply difficulties, according to customs data this week.
