“Dozens dead and injured”
Kiev reports successful attack on Crimean Brigade
8/26/2023 5:34 am
The 126th Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is stationed not far from the Crimean capital of Simferopol. Ukrainian media reports of a devastating drone attack that caught the occupiers completely unprepared. There is no comment from Moscow.
According to Ukrainian media, the Ukrainian secret service SBU and Kiev’s armed forces have attacked military positions with drones on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia. There are dozens dead and injured, the reported “Ukrainska Pravda” citing informed circles at the SBU. A photo of clouds of smoke was also published. Accordingly, the 126th Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is said to have been attacked in the village of Perevalnoe not far from the Crimean capital Simferopol. The information on this from the Russian side did not initially exist.
According to the reports, the drones also hit an ammunition depot, bypassing Russian air defense systems. Military technology was also badly damaged, it said. The Russian occupiers were not prepared for the special operation of the SBU and the Ukrainian armed forces. In the past, the Russian Ministry of Defense and the authorities in Crimea had repeatedly reported the shooting down of Ukrainian drones. For weeks now, Ukraine has been increasingly targeting targets on the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Zelenskyj puts pressure on F-16 delivery
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is urging action to deploy the F-16 fighter jets it has promised against the aggressor Russia as soon as possible. “Our goal is to get closer to the time when the F-16s will help us keep the Russian terrorists away. As soon as possible,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote late in the evening on Platform X, formerly Twitter.
In addition to the Netherlands and Denmark, Norway has also pledged F-16 deliveries to Ukraine. In total, dozens of planes are involved. The exact delivery time is not clear. With the fighter jets, Ukraine wants to increase the effectiveness of its counter-offensive against the Russian attacks and, above all, protect its airspace – together with the air defense systems – better than before. Russia, on the other hand, is threatening that the use of fighter jets will make the war even bloodier.
“Our team abroad is working on expanding the training missions as much as possible,” said Zelenskyj in his evening video message. “Our military is preparing the infrastructure as soon as possible and sending pilots and engineers for training. We have to make sure that Ukraine is fully prepared.” He had previously said the F-16s would be delivered once the pilots had completed training. After a conversation with US President Joe Biden the day before, Zelenskyy said that the US was also involved in the training of pilots and engineers. He also announced that new defense packages would be prepared to meet the needs of soldiers at the front. He did not give details.