5/10/23
Ukrainian journalists have released a detailed interactive map revealing more than 200 military facilities located in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
The map—created by journalists at Krym.realii, the Crimean project of the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty—shows the locations of 223 military facilities in the peninsula. These include training grounds, fuel stations, ammunition depots, the sites of radars and air defense systems and the locations of headquarters. Further details on the map show units of various military branches, airfields and bases of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Tap on link below to view the interactive map:
https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/crimea-military-bases-map/32397787.html
Its publication comes days after Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for the Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, urged Crimea residents to stay away from military facilities in the peninsula, ahead of a looming counteroffensive by Kyiv to recapture its occupied territories.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged in the summer of 2022 to reverse Russia’s annexation of Crimea. As Russia braces for an expected counteroffensive from Ukraine, there has been a notable shift in narrative on how the war-torn country can regain control of its annexed territory.
A yellow terror-threat level has been in place in parts of Crimea since April 11, 2022, weeks after President Vladimir Putin‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Meanwhile, reports of explosions on the peninsula are becoming more frequent.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in explosions that have taken place in Crimea, including the October 2022 blast on the Kerch bridge that links the peninsula to Russia, and a fire at an oil depot in Sevastopol late last month.
Yusov said on April 29, shortly after the Sevastopol oil depot fire, that it is “advisable for all residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea not to be near military facilities and facilities that support the aggressor’s army in the near future.”
The map’s creator, Igor Tokar, highlighted the importance of Radio Liberty, which is funded by the U.S. government, informing its audience about “the level of militarization of the Crimean peninsula.”
“We want to warn the Crimeans about the danger associated with these places. After all, many people live in close proximity to military facilities of the Russian Federation,” said Tokar.
“And taking into account the large-scale military operations that Russia is conducting against Ukraine, these places are especially dangerous for others,” he added.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak told the news outlet last month that he is confident his country’s troops will be in Crimea in as little as five months.
Newsweek has contacted Russia’s Defense Ministry via email for comment.