Immediately after being sworn in in 2019, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared the reconquest of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea one of his main goals. This project has now become even more important with the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year. While preparations for a spring offensive by the Ukrainian army are underway, the National Security Council has now presented a 12-point plan to liberate Crimea.
For example, as part of the “distress”, the Crimean Bridge with the road and rail connection to the Russian interior should be demolished, Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on Facebook on Sunday. He described the representatives of the Moscow power apparatus as “garbage”. The civil service must be ‘cleansed’ along the lines of the denazification of Germany after World War II, and collaborators and traitors must be prosecuted under criminal law.
Extensive program of “detoxification”
Land sales and other contracts would be canceled, and Russians who moved there after February 2014 would be evicted. “A comprehensive program of ‘detoxification’ is being carried out, which will neutralize the effects of the long-standing influence of Russian propaganda on the public consciousness of part of the population of the peninsula,” writes Danilov in item 9. In addition, all political prisoners , including many Crimean Tatars, to be released immediately.
For Moscow only statements from “sick people”
Russia regards the Crimean peninsula as its territory and has threatened massive retaliation in the event of Ukrainian attacks. The twelve-point plan was also discussed on Russian state television on Sunday. The governor of the Crimean metropolis of Sevastopol, Mikhail Raswoshayev, spoke of statements from “sick people” in Kiev. The Russian military is “curing” these people, Rasvozhayev said.
The meaning of Melitopol
Despite this, the Ukrainian army has probably already made the first attempts to cut off supplies to the Russian troops. Multiple explosions occurred at a Russian military facility in the strategically important city of Melitopol on Sunday. This happened in a railway shed used by the occupying forces for repairs and as a fuel and ammunition storage facility, the city’s elected mayor Ivan Fedorov said. The roof of the camp was damaged in an attack on Monday. According to Fedorov, dozens of soldiers were “eliminated”. “At around 9:30 am, at least six explosions were heard in the currently occupied city of Melitopol,” Fedorov told Ukrainian television. All explosions would have occurred on the railway grounds. It is still unclear what casualties the enemy suffered in the explosions on Sunday.
Melitopol is central to the maintenance of the Russian land bridge to occupied Crimea. According to military experts, the important transport hub in the Zaporizhia region could be targeted by the expected Ukrainian counter-offensive. Taking the city would cut off road and rail links between Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula, which was illegally annexed in 2014.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
