Ukraine indicates that it has hit Russian missiles in the occupied Crimea

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s military intelligence agency reported a brazen attack late Monday involving Russian cruise missiles being transported by train in the occupied and illegally annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

The region’s Russian-appointed governor spoke of the incident in the same Crimean city of Dzhankoy, in the northern part of the peninsula, although he did not mention cruise missiles as the target of the attack.

None of the reports could be independently verified.

A vague statement from Ukraine’s military agency, posted on its website, said several Kalibr cruise missiles were destroyed in an explosion, without clearly saying whether Ukraine was responsible or what weapon was used. The missiles were said to have been transported by rail and intended for a submarine.

The agency hinted that the Kiev government was responsible, saying the blast that destroyed the missiles was continuing “the process of Russia’s demilitarization and preparing Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula to end its occupation.”

A precursor to last year’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, Russia seized Crimea in 2014 and then annexed the peninsula in a move many countries have deemed illegal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed to retake Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia, including Crimea.

A possible signal of a Ukrainian attack came from the Russian-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov. He said on social media that anti-aircraft weapons had been fired in the area of ​​Dzhankoy, where the Ukrainian intelligence agency said the cruise missiles had been destroyed.

Aksenov said that the falling debris injured one person and damaged a house and a shop. In his report, he did not mention that cruise missiles had been hit, but specified why the anti-aircraft weapons were fired, as well as whether the injury and damage were caused by debris from the anti-aircraft weapons or a shot down object.

According to unconfirmed reports on social media, Russian air defenses shot down drones.

The current war has seen reports of attacks on Russian military bases, assassinations and other targets in Crimea, and Ukraine has rarely, if ever, explicitly claimed responsibility, but welcomes such incidents.

These incidents in Crimea and other areas of Russia far from the front lines of the war have highlighted significant weaknesses in Russian defenses and embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin, who reportedly believed the invasion would be quick and easy.