3/24/23
AUkrainian flag was raised on a communications tower in Crimea this week, according to an official. He said resistance to Russian rule is growing in the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by President Vladimir Putin in 2014.
Colonel Vladislav Nazarov, the spokesman for the Operational Command South of the Ukrainian Army, posted a video on his Telegram on Wednesday. He said the footage shows Ukraine’s flag being raised in the village of Hrushivka, in Crimea’s Sudak district, earlier this week.
Tensions have been rising in recent weeks as Ukraine has signaled it intends to recapture Crimea. In February, a Ukrainian official said that his country is preparing “assault brigades” to take back its occupied territories, including Crimea. Such a move would be a red line for Russia, it is feared, and Putin may use his country’s nuclear capabilities to defend the territory.
“The national flag of Ukraine appeared on a mobile-phone tower yesterday,” Nazarov said. “Very soon, such events will no longer surprise Ukrainians, because blue and yellow will calmly float over every building of the peaceful and free Ukrainian peninsula.”
Newsweek has been unable to independently verify where or when the video was filmed.
How Russians Feel About Putin
Nazarov said the flag is a symbol of Ukrainian resistance to Russian rule in the peninsula.
“But for now, our flag on the occupied territory is another symbol of the resistance of the Ukrainian people, which, despite oppression, criminal prosecutions and illegal sentences, is not only getting stronger, but also expanding,” Nazarov wrote.
He added: “Crimea is waiting for us, our citizens are waiting for us, and we are actively preparing to return home!”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on March 6 to recapture Crimea, which is located to the south of mainland Ukraine.
Alexander Formanchuk is the chairman of Crimea’s Civic Chamber. He told state-run news agency RIA Novosti on January 31 that he believes a global nuclear war will “immediately” break out should any attempt be made to return Crimea to Ukrainian control.
Boris Bondarev is a former Russian diplomat who resigned publicly in May 2022 over the invasion of Ukraine. He told Newsweek in February that he believes Putin’s nuclear threats are a bluff.
“Today [Putin’s] bluffing and we know that he has bluffed about nuclear threats. Ukrainians recovered some parts of their territory, and there was no nuclear retaliation,” Bondarev said in a phone interview from Switzerland last month.
Grigory Yavlinsky is a Russian opposition politician and founder of Moscow’s last liberal party. He told Newsweek on March 13 that he believes Putin’s nuclear threats to the West over his war in Ukraine are “real.”
Newsweek has emailed Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs for comment.
I know of around a hundred pro-Ukrainian people in Crimea, mainly from Simferopol. They are indeed waiting for liberation!
That took quite some courage and effort, putting the Ukrainian flag on the tower in the video. It was risky to life and limb, and to being arrested and tortured.
Liked Crimea is Ukraine!🇺🇦
If anyone wanted to know why Poopin invaded Ukraine, this chart above will explain it. Moskali are thieves and murderers, plain and simple. They do not seek peace and they do not want friendship. They want blood, propaganda and torture. To keep power in Moskovia all you need to do is produce blood and death to satisfy the masses. These animals have no place in civilized society and giving them a veto will only result in MORE blood and MORE death for the innocent.
Destroying the shithole would be the best bet for humanity and the planet.