ISW assesses consequences of strikes on Crimea for Russia

The Institute for the Study of War reports.

“Sustained Ukrainian strikes against Russian military targets in occupied Crimea appear to be forcing the Russian military to commit additional air defense assets to Crimea in order to defend existing bases and logistics infrastructure, and further Ukrainian strikes against such air defense assets may render the peninsula untenable as a staging ground for the Russian military,” the statement says.

 It is noted that Ukraine's current efforts to draw attention to Russia's air defense "umbrella" in Crimea, in particular, could lead to the deployment of more air defense assets to Crimea, making it vulnerable to further attacks.

Instead, Western partners have long supported Ukraine's right to strike Russian military targets in occupied Crimea, and analysts believe Ukrainian forces could repeat their successful strikes on military targets in Russia if the West approved such actions.

• On the night of June 12, the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched a group missile strike on the temporarily occupied Crimea and destroyed two Russian S-300 and S-400 radars.