Ukraine decimates Russian logistics, bringing chaos to Crimea

Ukraine’s disruption of Russian battlefield logistics escalated in the past week, with dramatic attacks on Russian-occupied Crimea and satellite communications centres near Moscow – two regions where Russia is supposedly prioritising air defence. In response to Ukrainian attacks deep inside the Russian heartland this year, Russia had relocated air defence systems from the regions to Moscow and the Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea to the Russian mainland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday. “These two perimeters are the ones the Russians have been ordered to defend at the expense of weakening other directions,” he said. The Kremlin had moved “hundreds of launchers for S-400, S-500, and Pantsir (missile launch) systems to the Moscow region alone”, Zelenskyy said, and another 90 to Valdai, a resort 450km (280 miles) north of Moscow where Russian President Vladimir Putin and much of the Russian elite are said to go on retreat. “In all other regions of Russia, there are only a few launchers each,” Zelenskyy said. Ukraine appeared to take advantage of those choices when it aimed at two Russian military satellite communication centres on June 22. …