Crimea's Former Prime Minister Revealed a Secret Defense Plan for the Peninsula

Crimea could have been defended against the Russian invasion in 2014 if Ukraine had implemented the Sevastopol defense plan and deployed a marine brigade.

Serhiy Kunitsyn, the former prime minister of Crimea and now a serviceman in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, made this statement in an interview with Krym.Realii.

According to him, back in 2010, when he headed the Sevastopol City State Administration, the then-commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Admiral Ihor Tenyukh, handed him a secret plan to defend the city against potential military threats from Russia.

Kunitsyn explained that the document outlined the actions to be taken by the Ukrainian military, coastal defense forces, police, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the event of Russian aggression.

According to him, they subsequently prepared a classified report for President Viktor Yushchenko and the Ukrainian Minister of Defense. In particular, it addressed the need to deploy a marine brigade in Sevastopol and in the area of Lake Donuzlav.

“I left my post in 2010. And when I asked in 2014, ‘Where is that secret brigade we were deploying?’ Yanukovych had come to power—he buried Yushchenko’s order. There was no brigade,” Kunitsyn said.

He noted that after Viktor Yanukovych came to power, the decisions intended to strengthen Crimea’s defenses were, in fact, never implemented.

Recently, the occupying administration of Crimea acknowledged that the resort season on the peninsula is proving “difficult.” The tourism industry has been hit by canceled reservations and a decline in the number of customers.

Prices for foodand fuel have also risen in occupied Crimea. Annual inflation accelerated to 15.79 percent in July, which is nearly three times higher than the rate for Russia as a whole.

As a reminder, Russia began its occupation of Crimea in February 2014. In March of that same year, Moscow announced the incorporation of the peninsula into the Russian Federation; however, Ukraine and the international community do not recognize this annexation.

Андрій Колісніченко