Budanov identified the main objective of the strikes on Crimea

Kirill Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, called on residents of the temporarily occupied Crimea to be understanding of the consequences of Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s military and logistical infrastructure on the peninsula.

He made this statement in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

According to Budanov, he understands that due to the strikes on Russian military facilities, Crimean residents are facing disruptions in the supply of fuel, electricity, and water. At the same time, he emphasized that these difficulties are temporary and necessary to achieve the main goal—returning the peninsula to Ukrainian control.

“All these inconveniences are for the sake of a greater goal, and that greater goal is returning home,” Budanov said.

He noted that Crimea was and remains Ukrainian territory, and that the peninsula’s residents should understand the reasons behind the temporary everyday problems arising from the destruction of the occupiers’ military infrastructure.

Budanov also emphasized that one of Ukraine’s key tasks right now is to disrupt Russian military logistics in the southern sector.

“Our main priority right now is to cut off all of this southern logistics, because supplies for the ‘Dnipro’ group are passing through the territory of the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea—and on a very large scale,” he stated.

According to the head of the Office of the President, a significant portion of the supplies for the Russian “Dnipro” military group passes through Crimea, so strikes on logistics routes are crucial for weakening the capabilities of the Russian Federation’s army.

Recently, the power supply in occupied Crimea has deteriorated significantly—successful strikes on substations have left part of the peninsula without street lighting at night.

Hangars where the occupiers stored military equipment were also hit.

At the “Gvardeyskoye” airfield, hangars that Russian troops used to store andmaintain Shahed-type attack drones were struck.

Андрій Колісніченко