Russia seeks to boost troop numbers in occupied Crimea

He shared the information on Espreso TV.

"The Russians continue to use occupied Crimea as a military base for further attacks on Ukrainian territory. We have information that they are constantly trying to increase the personnel of brigades stationed in Crimea, including the 810th Marine Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. They started with the size of this brigade and are now trying to turn it into a division. It is known that the brigade has already been reinforced with 19 new military units. This indicates that the Russians are systematically using the peninsula in the war against Ukraine," Bariiev said.

According to a member of the Mejlis, Russian occupiers are also actively carrying out so-called terrorist operations aimed at intimidating the civilian population of the peninsula.

"Russians are also actively conducting preventive actions in Crimea. For example, activists report that oil sludge has reappeared along the Black Sea coast. For this, administrative cases are immediately opened against them. According to their explanations, this is fake information and provocation. In addition, the Russians are actively conducting so-called anti-terrorist operations. The goal of these actions is clear — to intimidate the local population," he added.

• For the third year in a row, Russians will not hold a military parade in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol on May 9, as agreed with the Russian Defense Ministry.