War came to Crimea, and Ukraine ended the summer with start of counteroffensive

There are no more quiet places in Ukraine, and it now applies to the entire internationally recognized territory of the country. The main plot of the six months is blowing up Crimea.

The peninsula was brazenly annexed by Vladimir Putin back in 2014. He sent his troops there and organized a fake referendum, “legitimizing” the annexation. For Putin, Crimea has become a trophy and his main achievement. It brought him an unprecedented rating and did not let the Ukrainian Maidan become a success story.

“Crimea has returned to home harbor,” the phrase constantly heard since 2014 from all adherents of the so-called “Russian spring” and personally Putin.

The President of Russia could not allow the people in the neighboring country to remove the corrupt government and build a prosperous state. That’s why right after the Maidan, Russia annexed Crimea and attacked the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In Putin’s head, a street protest and removing a corrupt government must necessarily lead to chaos and civil war. This is exactly what he organized in Ukraine. When everyone had already forgotten about these events in 2014, he attacked the rest of Ukraine in February. He hoped to take it over within three days, but something has gone wrong.

Russian propaganda constantly escalated the situation. They claimed if Ukraine suddenly stroke on Crimea, then the “day of judgment, very fast and toilful, will come,” as former President Dmitry Medvedev threatened. But when Ukraine hit the air base in Saki in early August, Medvedev deleted his post.

At first, the six blasts in Saki shocked everyone. Russian tourists quickly packed their things and ran from the peninsula, saying, “I don’t want to leave Crimea. I’m so used to it here.” This phrase has become a true meme in Ukraine. However, the attack on Saki, which destroyed about a dozen jets, was not the only one.

The explosions of ammunition and oil depots and the collapse of bridges in the Russian regions bordering Ukraine were presented by propaganda as accidents. The Ministry of Defense of Russia even claimed their flagman cruiser Moskva sunk in April due to an unexplained fire on board, perhaps caused by smoking in the wrong place. They still prefer not to talk about it. They recognized only one person dead, and the remaining 400 are listed as missing.

Russia cannot admit that it is not capable of defending the peninsula. Therefore there were no special statements from their officials. If you do not talk about it, the blasts did not happen.

How to explain to local residents that air defense is not working? And even worse: how to admit that Ukraine attacks for real? And the third version is even more unacceptable. Russia was never able to destroy the partisan movement in Crimea, although it populated it with Russians over these eight years.

Well, they did not want to believe that Ukrainians could not attack. It turned out that they could. A large ammunition depot near Dzhankoi was destroyed. The blasts were so powerful that they had to shut down the railway for rebuilding. Then something was shot down over the airfield in Gvardeisky, probably a drone, and then an air raid alert sounded in Kerch, Sevastopol, and Evpatoria.

A drone even targeted the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. The Russians had to admit it eventually.

The explosions in Crimea affected Putin psychologically. He always perceived the peninsula as a sacred place. But where is the day of judgment?

As we can see, Putin is only capable of threats. He can no longer escalate the situation. His army is exhausted.

The Russian mercenaries from The Wagner Group were also unlucky. On August 14, the Ukrainian military used HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems to hit the Wagner Group headquarters in occupied Popasna in the Luhansk region, occupied as a result of the invasion, killing presumably over 100 mercenaries.

The Wagnerians are considered the most motivated and fierce fighters, as their income depend on their achievements on the battlefield. They also took part in ground operations in Syria. By the way, mercenarism in Russia is prohibited by law, but the Wagner Group still exists since this “army” is led by Putin’s cook and friend, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The offensive of the Russian army has finally stopped, although it looked rather dead before. Throughout the month, the sides reported brief and minor clashes. The tactic of destroying Russian warehouses worked out. After all, this is exactly what the Ukrainian army has been doing for the past two months.

Nothing is left for Russia but to use nuclear blackmail – not with an actual nuclear weapon this time, but with the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The ZNPP appeared to be in the spotlight of global attention in early August when the Russian forces first opened fire on the power plant. Russia has rejected calls to demilitarize the nuclear plant, claiming it is “protecting it” from provocations by Ukraine.

The United Nations agreed to facilitate the visit of IAEA inspectors to the ZNPP from Kyiv, but Russia did not see the mission travel via Ukraine.

On August 25, the ZNPP was completely disconnected from the power grid for the first time in history, leaving almost the entire southern region of Ukraine without power. Later Maxar Technologies company published satellite images showing four large holes in the ZNPP’s roof.

However, the IAEA mission led by their director general, Rafael Grossi, arrived in Kyiv on August 30. The mission of 14 specialists immediately left for Enerhodar, where the ZNPP is located, and arrived there on September 1.

The situation in Enerhodar is very alarming, as an explosion could lead to a terrible nuclear disaster. That is why the UK and the USA had to warn Russia.

The chairman of the Defense Select Committee of the British House of Commons, Tobias Ellwood, said: “ANY deliberate damage causing potential radiation leak to a Ukrainian nuclear reactor would be a breach of NATO’s Article 5.”

American congressman, Adam Kinzinger, supported his British colleague, mentioning Article 5.

On August 24, Ukraine celebrated its 31st Independence Day and six months of the war. The authorities warned of massive shelling across the country on this day since Russia loves commemorative dates and symbolism.

The invaders kept the whole country in suspense. The number of air raid sirens was close to two hundred. According to the Ukrainian military, the enemy made about 200 sorties. However, only eight confirmed fired missiles. This means that Russia is running out and saving its missiles.

However, the most important country’s holiday ended with one of the biggest tragedies of this war. Russia again targeted civilians, shelling the railway in Chaplyne in Central Ukraine. It killed 25 people, including children. Russia, as usual, claimed that they were hitting a military facility. An Associated Press reporter visited the scene and found no evidence of soldiers on the train the Russian troops had attacked.

Summer in Ukraine ended with good news. Kyiv has launched a long-awaited counter-offensive in an attempt to retake the country’s south. On the morning of August 29, several brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine intensified shelling and broke through the first line of Russian defense.

Throughout August, the Ukrainian army shelled the Antonovsky and Darievsky bridges and eventually took them out of service, cutting the invaders from supply in Kherson. According to local residents, the Russian military packed things and began to flee Kherson. CNN reported that Ukraine had returned four villages under its control.

Unfortunately, Ukraine still does not have enough weapons to begin a full-scale liberation campaign. It all depends on how fast the partners will deliver the promised weaponry. However, Ukraine has marked the beginning of a new chapter in this war.

Daria Meshcheriakova,

Associate of TheGeopost