- A Russian pundit has warned that Ukraine could target Crimea, a region currently controlled by Russia, as part of the ongoing war.
- State media commentator Mikhail Khodaryonok suggested that Russian ships and facilities could be targeted by Ukrainian forces in potential missile strikes.
- The former air defense commander said that the peninsula is a “high priority” for Russia.
A Russian state TV commentator has warned that Ukraine could target Crimea, a region currently controlled by Russia, as part of the ongoing war that began in February last year.
Russian state media commentator and former air defense commander Mikhail Khodaryonok suggested that Russian ships and facilities could be targeted by Ukrainian forces in potential missile strikes.
His comments come as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its 409th day of what Russian President Vladimir Putin initially called a “special military operation” that has seen the U.S. and its Western allies provide significant assistance to the Ukrainian government in the form of financial aid and weapons.
Khodaryonok warned of “possible strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against facilities on the territory of the peninsula” in a video of his remarks shared on Twitter on Saturday by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
“They will clearly be among the priorities,” Khodaryonok said. “There is the Crimean bridge, including all other communications that are used to transport materiel, the airfield network, the control posts, the Black Sea Fleet ships that are in roadsteads and at anchorages.
“All the forces and means of the Ukrainian side will be used to hit these sensitive facilities,” he went on, adding that Ukrainian missile systems “and other facilities with the range to hit these targets will definitely be used.
“So in this regard, we have to prepare very carefully to repel possible strikes of the enemy,” Khodaryonok said. “Because after all, the Crimean peninsula is a high priority for us.
“And we must not allow the enemy to carry out any tasks to damage either the peninsula itself or facilities deployed on its territory,” he added.
Responding to the comments, Gerashchenko wrote: “Russian propagandist lays out how Ukrainian counteroffensive could proceed in Crimea. They seem to have given the subject a lot of thought.”
Russia formally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 but the Ukrainian government has never recognized that annexation. The U.S. and the overwhelming majority of the world’s governments have also refused to recognize Russian claims to the region.
Khodaryonok made headlines in May last year when he warned the situation for Russian troops “will frankly get worse” – comments that differed from the official state narrative at the time and that were widely viewed and reported.
Two days later, Khodaryonok appeared to have changed his view, criticizing Ukrainian forces and describing the “invalidity” of claims that Kyiv’s forces were “having major successes” and were ready “to launch counter-offensives.”
In February, Khodaryonok warned that Russia needed to prepare for Ukraine to receive fighter jets from NATO.
“We have to get ready now,” Khodaryonok told a panel show, adding that “there will be deliveries of fighter jets.”
Poland and Slovakia, both members of NATO, announced last month that they were planning to send fighter jets to Ukraine, while Ukraine has previously requested U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets. The Biden administration has declined to provide Ukraine with the jets, citing difficulties surrounding training pilots and maintaining the planes.
Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian defense ministry via email for comment.
