Russia Uses Smoke Screens to Cover Crimea From Ukraine's Attacks

Smoke covered Crimea on Wednesday as the Russian military looks for ways to protect the Black Sea peninsula from Ukrainian aerial attacks.

Explosions were heard in some parts of the peninsula Wednesday morning, along with an air raid alert that went off in the port city of Sevastopol for roughly a half-hour, according to Crimean residents who spoke with the Ukrainian broadcast channel Suspilne. Other local outlets reported that the Kerch Straight Bridge, which connects Crimea to mainland Russia, was closed to traffic during that time as well.

Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev wrote in a post to Telegram that a smoke screen had been lit in the city's bay area by Russia's military as a "standard camouflage means." Smoke was also reported in the port city of Feodosia, according to a local report. Ukrainian air strikes have targeted both cities in recent weeks as Kyiv ramps up its attacks on Russia's Black Sea Fleet and other strategic military hubs in Crimea.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, has served as a strategic military hub for Moscow in supplying its troops fighting along the frontlines in Ukraine in the war that began with Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022.

The peninsula has become a focal point for Kyiv's military, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the start of the new year that isolating Crimea was a top priority for his troops in 2024.

Ukrainian drone strikes have successfully targeted key infrastructure throughout the peninsula, including twice striking the Kerch Strait Bridge, several ammunition depots and wreaking havoc on Russian President Vladimir Putin's Black Sea Fleet.

The attacks reportedly killed a handful of Russian officers stationed in Crimea, including Colonel Vadim Nailyovich Ismagilov, the commander of the 3rd Signals Intelligence Regiment of Russia's Aerospace Forces who, according to local reports, was killed after Kyiv struck a Russian military command post stationed near Sevastopol on January 4.

That attack also killed four other top commanders, according to Ukraine's military, and resulted in double-digit casualties for Moscow. Newsweek was unable to independently verify the claims.

Ukrainian Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov warned Putin during an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde last week that his country's attacks on the peninsula were "just the beginning" of what was to come for Crimea.

"The Russians have had to move everything in a hurry to the southeast," added Budanov, who is head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency.