The enemy has turned Crimea into a military base for an offensive against Ukraine

Militarization has intensified in Crimea: the occupation authorities are forming street patrols and training security forces. The peninsula remains a key Russian military hub in the war against Ukraine, despite the absence of formal martial law.

The situation on the occupied peninsula was discussed by Krym.Realii.

The annexed Crimea is increasingly turning into a rear base for Russia's military operations against Ukraine. Despite the absence of formal martial law, paramilitary patrols are actively operating on the peninsula, security forces are training and mobile recruitment centers are being deployed right on the streets.

The Russian military continues to transfer equipment and manpower from Crimea to the southern front and to the Russian border with Sumy region. The Kerch bridge is being actively used for this purpose. In Sevastopol and Feodosia, mobile points are being set up to recruit volunteers for the war. Recruits are promised a salary and legal advice, urging them to sign contracts right on the squares and near the markets.

At the same time, paramilitary groups associated with the far-right "Russian community" appear on the streets under the guise of walking. They have coordinators, street patrolling tasks, and cooperation with the occupation administrations. Such groups operate without a clearly defined legal status, but with the tacit consent of the security forces.

At the same time, military exercises of BARS-Crimea units continue on the peninsula, practicing countering the so-called Ukrainian saboteurs: stopping traffic on highways, isolating settlements and cutting off mobile communications.

According to media reports, Crimea remains an important logistical hub for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Military supplies, equipment maintenance, and manpower transportation are all carried out from the peninsula. However, Moscow does not disclose how many of those mobilized from Crimea have not returned from the war.

According to Krym.Realii, at least 1,500 dead Crimeans who fought in the Russian Armed Forces have been identified. The Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the ARC estimated the total losses of military personnel from Crimea at more than 2,000 people.

With each passing month of the full-scale war, life in the occupied Crimea is becoming more and more like a martial law regime, with militarization, propaganda and preparations for a long confrontation.

In the occupied Crimea, students are also involved in pseudo-military training organized by Russian militants. More than a thousand participants are supposed to take so-called tactical medicine courses, although in reality young people are forced to collect first aid kits for the Russian military.

Анна Бальчінос