A spokesman for Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command told Russian occupiers it was “time to leave” after Russian cruise missiles were destroyed in a drone strike in Crimea.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said Monday that an “explosion” in the northern city of Dzhankoi on the Crimean peninsula destroyed Kalibr-NK cruise missiles as they were being transported by rail.
Russian news media later reported that drone strikes had hit the area as a train carrying high-value cruise missiles passed through.
Participants in military uniforms stand in front of a banner with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a patriotic flash mob marking the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, in Yalta, Crimea, March 17, 2023. (REUTERS/Alexey Pavlishak)
BIDEN ADMIN’S KIRBY RIDICULES PUTIN’S VISIT TO MARIUPOL: ‘HE NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON INSIDE UKRAINE’
“Dzhankoi is a hub station. Even at the beginning of a full-scale invasion, it was said that the failure of logistics would be the main way to influence the enemy’s ideas about what to do in Crimea,” Natalia Humeniuk, head of the organization. The Joint Press Center of Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command said on Tuesday, as translated by Pravda. “Now it is clearly established that they must leave.”
Fox News Digital was unable to independently verify the incident, and Kiev has not claimed direct responsibility for the attack, although it would not be the first time that Crimea – occupied by Russia since 2014 – has been targeted in the middle of the war in Ukraine.
Participants march in front of a banner with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in a patriotic flash mob marking the ninth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, in Yalta, Crimea, March 17, 2023. (REUTERS/Alexey Pavlishak)
LITTLE PUTIN DID A SURPRISE IN MARIUPOL, UKRAINE: “EVERYTHING IS A LIE, EVERYTHING IS JUST FOR SHOW!”
Kyiv has vowed not to stop fighting Russia until all forces are withdrawn, including from the peninsula. Strikes targeting weapons depots and military bases have increased in recent months.
Russia has been based on the peninsula to help transfer men and weapons to forces in southern Ukraine, and it was a vital logistical point when Russia first invaded, hoping to pin down Ukrainian forces in the north and south.
Moscow’s ability to build on its occupation of Crimea was key to its ability to seize key southern cities such as Kherson, Melitopol and Mariupol over the past year.
A convoy of pro-Russian troops moves along a road in Mariupol, Ukraine, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (REUTERS/Chingis Kondarov)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
However, Ukrainian troops have begun to push back against Russian forces in the region, pushing them out of the city of Kherson in November and, according to Humeniuk last month, Mariupol was no longer “completely inaccessible” to Ukrainian troops.
At the end of February, a Russian ammunition depot was reportedly destroyed in Mariupol, and several explosions were heard throughout the city.
Caitlin McFall is a reporter for Fox News Digital, covering politics, US and world news.