For several days, the Ukrainians have been concentrating on a particular territory: Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. In August, they sent drones over this “fortress” and caused explosions. The pro-Russian government in Crimea even had to repeatedly activate anti-aircraft defense.
Images of black smoke in the Crimean sky have gone around the world. And if the material damage has been controlled, the psychological damage is much heavier. Because Crimea is Russia’s backyard. A supposedly impregnable territory. A “holy land”, according to Putin. This “drone game” shows the Russians that they are ultimately not so safe in Crimea despite what the authorities repeat. Some took their car to flee. This shows that the conflict is getting closer to Russia and that war is no longer just about the front lines.
And Ukraine plays it. The Ministry of Defence, which does not claim responsibility for the attacks, nevertheless takes the opportunity to provoke the Russians who come to Crimea to sunbathe during holidays on the Black Sea coast. In a tweet, he stages this contrast. Against the background of music (Cruel summer“cruel summer”, from Bananarama), the Ukrainian authorities are ironic: you could have chosen countries where no bomb exploded, “You chose Crimea. Big mistake. Go back home, Crimea is Ukrainian”.
Unless they want an unpleasantly hot summer break, we advise our valued russian guests not to visit Ukrainian Crimea.
Because no amount of sunscreen will protect them from the hazardous effects of smoking in unauthorized areas.
bananarama pic.twitter.com/NnWnpZqMhR— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) August 11, 2022=
“You can literally smell in the air of Crimea that the occupation there is temporary, and that Ukraine is coming back”, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday. This is to say if the Ukrainian president knows how to choose his words and his targets to aim for Putin’s brain.
Psychological warfare does not stop in Crimea. Since the start of the conflict, there have been surprising initiatives. A Ukrainian association, for example, offers to personalize the missiles and bullets sent to the Russian enemy. For 150, 700 or 3,000 dollars, internet users all over the world can have a message written: “Glory to Ukraine”, “Fighting against fascism is a full-time job”. The website even offers to have the video of the moment the projectile is fired. The goal: to finance the Ukrainian army. According to its creator, the site raised $200,000 in three months. 95% of messages are written in English, an international communication operation.
The spoils of war are also staged. This weekend in kyiv, the streets of the capital saw the landing, like a parody parade, of dozens of destroyed Russian tanks. These machines brought back from the front on trucks or which had remained after the Russian attempt to take kyiv at the beginning of the war were displayed as a sign of defiance.
In February, russians were planning a parade in downtown Kyiv.
6 months into the large-scale war the shameful display of rusty russian metal is a reminder to all dictators how their plans may be ruined by a free and courageous nation.#FreedomIsOurReligion
@zaklyashtor pic.twitter.com/H1fbw2UaSS— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) August 20, 2022
On Saturday, scores of kyiv families posed in front of the charred, rusty tanks for photos. A day organized before the anniversary of independence on August 24 because the Ukrainian power fears aggression from Russia. No gathering has been authorized since Monday August 22 in the capital, and until Thursday.