Crimea strike may be turning point in Russia's war on Ukraine - The Telegraph

Experts told The Telegraph about this.

As in the case of most major attacks against Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment on the situation. However, the publication writes that there have been speculations in the mass media that the attack on the base in Crimea may indicate that Kyiv received ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers from the US. 

However, an anonymous Ukrainian military officer in a comment for the New York Times denied these rumors, saying that the strike was launched with the help of "Ukrainian-made weapons".

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that the explosions occurred due to the detonation of ammunition at the air base near Novofedorivka.

Meanwhile, University of St. Andrews professor of strategic studies, Philip O'Brien, said the actions of the Ukrainians were "extremely important".

"Having demonstrated that they are capable of striking Crimea, they will further stretch Russian defense capabilities. Russia will have to defend a much larger area behind the front line", the expert explained.

In turn, the professor of military studies at London King's College, Laurence Friedman, added: "No one prepared the Russian people for failures of this kind".

Only a few weeks ago, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, promised that if Ukraine attacks Crimea, "doomsday" will come. And now, when Kyiv seems to have done just that, the world froze, waiting for the Kremlin's response. If it is confirmed that a Ukrainian attack took place in Crimea, the Kremlin may regard it as an attack on Russian territory. So far, there have been a small number of Ukrainian strikes on Russian ammunition and fuel depots near the border. But yesterday's explosions took place in front of Russians who came to Crimea to rest. Western security experts believe that the new long-range capabilities of Ukraine create very big problems for Russian commanders in matters of logistics and security. They will now have to defend bases deep in their territory.

It is not clear what Moscow might do to escalate the war. The Russian command has so many problems. Since the beginning of July, the US and the UK have handed over HIMARS and M270 installations to the Ukrainian army. With the help of these weapons, the defenders of Ukraine began to massively destroy Russian supply lines, creating problems that could change the course of the war.

British analyst James Rushton believes that the strike on the air base in Crimea is a "turning point".

"A large area, which the Russians until now considered protected even from HIMARS and M270, is now not so", he explained.