There’s a vehicle park, in Novostepne a mile south of Dzhankoi in Russian-occupied northern Crimea, where Russian forces fighting in southern Ukraine send their damaged vehicles for repair.
According to Russian sources, a British-made Storm Shadow cruise missile, fired by a Ukrainian air force Sukhoi Su-24 bomber, was responsible for the blast.
How many vehicles were at the site at the moment of the Ukrainian strike is unclear.
The strike at the very least should compel the Russians to disperse their logistical infrastructure in southern Ukraine, which would disrupt and slow vehicle repairs.
A billowing cloud of smoke and dust was, for residents of Crimea, the first evidence of the Monday strike.
The Kremlin could disperse its repair bases instead of merely moving them—reducing the overall risk by presenting the Ukrainians with more, and smaller, targets.
Ukraine’s cruise missiles are making it harder for Russia to keep its brigades in southern Ukraine fully equipped. »
