Russia places military facilities near civilian areas in Crimea to deter Ukrainian strikes – ISW

Following Russian claims of an attack on Sevastopol, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has pointed out that Russia is deliberately placing military facilities near civilian areas in temporarily occupied Crimea, trying to deter Ukrainian strikes.

Source: ISW

Details: The Russian Defence Ministry claimed on 23 June that Ukrainian forces launched five ATACMS missiles armed with cluster munitions on Sevastopol, with Russian forces intercepting four of them. 

They said one missile deviated and detonated due to the impact of a Russian air defence interceptor. 

The Russian Defence Ministry blamed the US for civilian casualties in Sevastopol because they provided Ukraine with missiles, despite acknowledging that the Russian interceptor caused the deviation and detonation.

A Crimea-focused Russian blogger posted footage on 23 June showing explosions near Yevpatoriia and Vityne, also mentioning explosions near Chornomorske and Mizhvodne. 

Ukrainian outlet Suspilne Krym reported explosions in Yevpatoriia as well. 

Footage from that day showed civilians on a beach in Sevastopol during and after the missile strike. 

Russian sources said cluster munitions landed on civilians near a beach in Uchkuivka Park, northern Sevastopol, with Mikhail Razvozhayev, the so-called governor of Sevastopol, claiming four deaths and 151 injuries.

Ukrainian military officials neither confirmed nor denied the strike. 

ISW could not independently verify if Ukrainian forces used ATACMS missiles with cluster munitions, but the Russian Defence Ministry's blame on the US appears to be aimed at discouraging further US security aid to Ukraine.

Russian military bloggers criticised the Russian Defence Ministry and Crimea’s occupation authorities for failing to prevent the strike and protect civilians. They specifically noted the lack of reinforced shelters near the beach, comparing this to shelters built in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast near the Ukraine border.

Footage shows Russian forces have been placing military equipment in civilian areas in Crimea since the full-scale invasion began. 

Russian authorities have promoted tourism to Crimea during the war while using the peninsula for military staging. 

The military likely positions targets near civilian areas to deter Ukrainian strikes. 

Russian forces have used the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and schools in the occupied parts of Ukraine to shield military equipment, likely violating regulations on International Humanitarian Law that prohibit placing military targets near densely populated areas.

To quote the ISW's Key Takeaways on 23 June: 

• The Islamic State (IS) Northern Caucasus branch Wilayat Kavkaz likely conducted a complex and coordinated attack against churches, synagogues, and law enforcement structures in the Republic of Dagestan on 23 June.
• The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) accused Ukrainian forces of conducting a short-range ATACMS strike against occupied Sevastopol on 23 June. Russian milbloggers widely criticised the Russian MoD and Russia’s occupation authorities in Crimea for failing to prevent the strike and sufficiently protect Russian civilians.
• Ukrainian forces struck a Russian motorised rifle regiment command post in Nekhoteevka, Belgorod Oblast.
• Recent drone footage showing a Russian soldier executing a wounded fellow servicemember exemplifies the brutal culture that is pervasive within the Russian Armed Forces.
• South Korea has adopted a firm approach against Russia in the wake of recently intensified Russo-North Korean cooperation, suggesting that Russian efforts to threaten Seoul into withholding aid from Ukraine have failed.
• The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained two former senior employees of the Wagner Group-affiliated Patriot media holding on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Wagner mutiny.
• Russian forces recently seized Shumy and advanced near Donetsk City and Robotyne.
• Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed a law on 22 June officially transferring the Cossack Cadet Corps and the Russian Naval Cadet Corps to the jurisdiction of the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD).

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