Media: Raid on Crimea part of ongoing, 'long-term operation'

The raid on Russian-occupied Crimea that took place in the early hours of Aug. 24 is not "the story of one day, but a long-term operation," a source in Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR) told Ukrainska Pravda.

Few details can be released as the operation is ongoing, but its success shows that the peninsula is not just within reach of Ukrainian strikes, but also within reach for its military personnel, the source said.

The intelligence reported earlier that Ukrainian forces landed on Crimea with special watercraft and raised the Ukrainian flag near Maiak, a village on the northwestern tip of Crimea, as part of an operation with the Navy.

A radar base and radio engineering troop base for the Russian Aerospace Forces, the air and space branch of the Russian military, are located near Maiak.

Maiak is also less than five kilometers from Olenivka, where Ukraine reported to have destroyed a Russian missile defense system on Aug. 23. The intelligence source confirmed to Ukrainska Pravda that this was part of the "set of measures" of the same operation.

Intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said that the Ukrainian forces had already returned from the operation and that they had not suffered any losses. There were losses among Russian personnel, he added.

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Krym.Realii, the Crimean media project of the Ukrainian branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported explosions at 5 a.m. local time at Maiak.

Ukrainian intelligence said that the Russian proxy administration in Crimea has told local residents the explosions were due to the scheduled detonation of munitions.

The choice to conduct the operation and raise the Ukrainian flag on Crimea in the early hours of Aug. 24 is notable as it is Ukraine's 32nd Independence Day. Crimea has been occupied by Russia since 2014.

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