There are several versions
The enemy launched another attack on the Crimea, this time on the range, where, apparently, ammunition was stored. According to the Crimean authorities, the detonation is still ongoing. It is possible that the strike was on a former tank training ground in the southeastern part of Crimea.
Photo: wikimedia.org/VoidWanderer/CC BY-SA 4.0
Military expert Yuriy Knutov, in an interview with MK, assessed the version of a possible strike by the Ukrainian Thunder missile, which is a distant analogue of the Russian Iskander.
The strike on the range was inflicted at about 4 am. Military expert Alexander Zimovsky in his Telegram channel suggested that it was on fire at the former Agarmysh tank training ground. «That's why the Tavrida (highway) is closed — it runs along the northern perimeter of the test site,» the expert wrote.
Several versions have been cited on social networks as to what Ukraine hit — either Franco-British Storm Shadow missiles launched from aircraft, or Ukrainian operational-tactical missiles «Grom».
“The enemy received information in advance, apparently from undercover sources, and then it was confirmed by intelligence,” a military expert, director of the air defense museum, Yuri Knutov, told MK. — It is quite possible that one of the «sleeping cells» worked, and the explosion of the warehouse was organized by a sabotage group. It is indicative that the action was held shortly after the explosion of the Crimean bridge.
Knutov recalled that Kiev officials not so long ago threatened to leave Crimea not only without water after the explosion of the dam of the Kakhovka reservoir, but also without tourists.
“These actions, which are aimed at making the living conditions of the civilian population in Crimea as difficult as possible, fit into the strategy that was once voiced by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Reznikov,” the expert says. — He directly said that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia, so their task is to morally break the Russians. A similar tactic is planned for Donetsk.
The enemy plans to get as close to the city as possible in order to use long-range artillery, multiple launch rocket systems to fire at the roads leading to the city and create blockade conditions for Donetsk. We know this, and therefore we are taking all measures in order not only to repel the attacks of Ukrainian troops, but also to push the front further.
At the same time, the expert did not rule out that a Ukrainian missile could fly into the ammunition depots.
“The Grom missile, which, according to some sources, was used during the attack, is a Ukrainian development,” Knutov said. — It is something between the Tochka-U missile and the Russian missile of the Iskander complex. The range of the Thunder is approximately 300 kilometers. But Ukraine tried to improve them in such a way that they would fly over a distance of up to 500 kilometers.
Initially, Thunder was developed for Saudi Arabia and with its money. A few years ago, these missiles were even demonstrated at a parade in Kyiv, but the enterprises that produced these missiles later practically curtailed their activities. About a year ago, information about episodic strikes using Grom missiles began to appear again. But, as a rule, these missiles were quite successfully intercepted by our air defense system. The fact that now these missiles could reach the Crimea suggests that we may have certain gaps that were used by the enemy.
According to the expert, if it is nevertheless confirmed that the Grom missile was the cause of the fire, our troops will have to think about how to “strengthen the air defense system, primarily due to the S-300 and S-400 systems.