Ukrainian spies assert that Putin’s commanders have begun leaving Crimea in secret in order to sell their homes and bring their families back to Russia.
Agents of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and employees of the occupying government are also attempting to leave the peninsula, which has been controlled by Kremlin forces since 2014.
The quick advance of Ukrainian forces throughout the north of the country in recent days has alarmed officials, according to the military intelligence service, amid rumors that soldiers are evacuating from Melitopol, just 110 kilometers away.
Olha Stefanishyna, the Ukrainian vice-prime minister for Euro-Atlantic integration, stated that the Russians are so unsettled that they have also attempted to restart peace talks.
Ukrainian troops employ a French CAESAR mobile artillery piece to fire on Russian positions in Kharkiv, where they are now advancing.
Ukraine is bombarding Russian forces in Kharkiv with artillery in an effort to maintain momentum after a spectacular counterattack routed Putin’s troops.
Ukrainian troops launch HIMARS missiles manufactured in the United States towards Russian positions as optimism grows that they can drive Putin’s troops from their soil.
Ukraine is attacking east of Kharkiv and south of Kherson amidst allegations that Russians are secretly fleeing Crimea out of fear that it would also soon be assaulted.
Since the Ukrainian invasion, numerous groups of Russian officials have engaged in public and private outreach, she told France24.
However, considering the severity of the crimes that Russia commits on U.S. land – which become more severe every month – the leverage for discussions is significantly less than in February.
“It is of the utmost importance that we leverage this momentum for the enormous de-occupation of our land.” We will then be prepared for discussions.
“Not the ones Putin specifies, but anything that would end the war and prevent the future conflict on our country when Russia is able to replenish its supplies.”
Ms. Stefanishyna noted that talks are unlikely for at least a few months while Ukraine carries out its planned military operations aimed at regaining authority over the entirety of Donbas and Crimea.
President Zelensky has also made it plain that recapturing Crimea is a top priority for his soldiers, adding to the apprehension of Russian people residing there.
A spokesman for the military intelligence service said: ‘The successful actions of the defenders of Ukraine force the so-called authorities of the temporarily occupied Crimea and the south of our country to urgently relocate their families to the territory of the Russian Federation.
‘Representatives of the occupation administration of Crimea, FSB employees and commanders of some military units are secretly trying to sell their homes and urgently evacuate their relatives from the peninsula.’
That is despite Russia banning the sale of houses, restricting the movement of civilians through border crossing points, and keeping information on Ukraine’s victories hidden, the intelligence service added.
While the Kremlin is trying to downplay risks to the peninsula, the actions of the Kremlin’s troops tell a different story, the spies added.
A field is covered with craters left by the shelling close to Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine
A destroyed armoured fighting vehicle is seen on a road near the town of Izium recently liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Zelensky has said that re-taking Crimea – which has been under occupation since 2014 and is considered by the Kremlin to be part of Russia itself – is one of the main goals of the war against Russia.
The peninsula is of huge symbolic and practical value to both nations.
Legend has it that Vladimir the Great – ruler of the ancient kingdom of Kievan Rus’ to which both Ukraine and Russian trace their ancestry – was baptized there by Saint Andrew, beginning the Russian Orthodox tradition.
The peninsula was later annexed by the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great, expanding territorial gains by predecessor Peter the Great, whose imperial ambitions Putin is trying to emulate.
Control of the peninsula allows easy dominion over the Sea of Azov and control over swathes of the Black Sea.
Crimea also houses a large naval base at Sevastopol and gives access to and control over numerous lucrative sea-trading routes.
Should Ukrainian forces advance into Melitopol, it would put Crimea at risk of coming under direct attack.
Russian troops armed with Kalashnikov rifles attempt to hold off Ukrainian advances which has seen Kyiv regain control of 3,000 square miles in a matter of days
A Russian soldier opens fire with a rocket launcher at Ukrainian troops, amid a lightning-fast offensive that has pushed Putin’s men back
Russian artillery crews open fire as they try to stop Ukraine from capitalising on its rapid gains last week, amid growing hopes of victory
Kyiv’s forces have already managed to strike Russian air bases, railway lines and ammunition depots on the peninsula – attacks alternately attributed to special forces sabotage operations and long-range missile strikes.
But, with large numbers of Russian troops concentrated in the city of Kherson – where heavy fighting is underway – Crimea has yet to be directly threatening.
Taking Melitopol would put Ukrainian troops just 70 miles away down a highway with few large settlements along route to stop their advance.
It would also sever the so-called ‘land bridge’ between Crimea and the occupied Donbas, cutting off easy military supply routes.
Soldiers based in Crimea would then be left with just one main resupply line – a literal bridge across the Kerch Strait, which would be vulnerable to missile strikes.
Taking back control of Crimea would likely deal a fatal blow to Russia’s invasion, which could also prove fatal to the Putin regime.
As Zelensky put it in an address last month: ‘It began with Crimea, it will end with Crimea.’
Ukraine’s stunning counter-attacks east of Kharkiv and in Kherson – which has seen its forces recapture an area five times the size of London since the beginning of the month – have left Russia reeling.
Ukrainian servicemen ride atop of an armored vehicle on a road near the areas that have been liberated in Kharkiv region
Putin’s goal of ‘liberating’ the entire Donbas region – already downgraded after the retreat from Kyiv early in the war – now appears all-but impossible.
Russia’s forces are battered, struggling to hold their frontlines, and have few if any good options for how to respond.
Zelensky has hailed the success of the counter-attack while calling on western nations to give more weapons so his forces can finish the job.
Meanwhile Putin has been carrying on as if nothing has happened, insisting just a few days ago that Russia has ‘lost nothing’ in the war.
However, signs of dissent within the country are growing – with state media propagandists and allies such as Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov both acknowledging Russia has suffered a ‘defeat’.
In broadcasts on Monday night, state media for the first time considered the possibility of total defeat in what they are now referring to as a ‘war’.
Though they continued to insist that Russia is capable of winning, they warned that a shift will have to take place because the military is in a ‘serious situation’.