Families flee Crimea as Ukraine intensifies Black Sea offensive

Ukrainian intelligence reports that families of Russian military personnel stationed in the annexed Crimea are fleeing the peninsula on the Black Sea. Their evacuation is related to the intensifying attacks by Ukrainian forces, reports "Newsweek."

The representative of Ukrainian military intelligence, Andrey Yusov, is quoted by the Telegram channel Crimean Wind. The military official stated that "while Crimea remains a crucial hub for Russian military logistics in the ongoing war, occupying forces have already "relocated" part of the Black Sea Fleet to Novorossiysk, in Russia's Krasnodar Krai."

The latest satellite images from April this year confirm this. Matthew Tobin (MT) Anderson, an open-source intelligence (OSINT) analyst, shared them. They indicate that the Black Sea Fleet has withdrawn from its naval bases in Crimea.

Ukraine has increased the frequency of attacks on Crimea as part of its efforts to regain the peninsula on the Black Sea. Russia annexed this area after Vladimir Putin's decision in 2014.

Some of the families of Russian occupation officials and collaborators also left Crimea. They are not waiting for any holiday season, but are trying to save their lives" said Yusov.

On July 4 at 3:00 PM ET, Pletenchuk said that "the last patrol ship" belonging to the Black Sea Fleet is moving away from Crimea. "Remember this day," he wrote in a statement published on social media.

"The ultimate goal is complete absence of military ships of the so-called Russian Federation in the Azov and Black Sea regions," said Dmytro Pletenchuk, former spokesperson of the Ukrainian Navy (WMSU), in March.

The successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in eliminating Russian ships can be attributed to the Magura V5 sea drones. In May, Andrey Yusov said that throughout the war, they had caused damages worth CAD 670 million.