Ever since last February’s invasion, Russia has used Crimea – annexed in 2014 – as a base for its military. But that base is now under regular attack. Last night, cruise missiles being transported from Crimea were blown up by drones. The attack was in Dzhankoi, a junction just north of Crimea used by Russia to supply troops in the mainland. The attack exposes not just the vulnerability of Putin’s military (the $6m-a-throw Kalibr missiles should not be vulnerable to drone attack) but the quality of Ukraine’s intelligence. It appears that someone on the inside leaked information about moving the missiles.
These missiles – with a 1,500-mile range – have been used to hit Ukrainian critical infrastructure. Russia is anyway understood to be running low on supplies. Ukrainian intelligence says Russia has now used 93 per cent of its Kalibr missile stockpile and just has a few left, after a long campaign to deny power to Ukraine.
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