Anti- Putin Russian Partisans Are Now Threatening Crimea

Quite possibly disinformation intended to cause Russian military confusion, the statement may still be effective due to the Anti-Putin partisans success around Belgorod and Russian sensititivies about the importance of Crimea. JL  

Howard Altman reports in The Drive:

The self-proclaimed anti-Putin partisans who have launched incursions into Russia say their next target is the Crimean peninsula.In an address apparently broadcast on radio stations in Crimea, The Freedom For Russia Legion said they, along with the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), were going to conduct a raid into the peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014.

The self-proclaimed anti-Putin partisans who have launched incursions into Russia say their next target is the Crimean peninsula.

In an address apparently broadcast on radio stations in Crimea, The Freedom For Russia Legion said they, along with the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), were going to conduct a raid into the peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014.

"Dear residents of the Ukrainian Crimea! The Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps will soon make a raid of volunteers on the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which is temporarily occupied by the Putin regime,” the message stated, according to the Crimea Partisans Telegram channel, which is dedicated to the liberation of the peninsula. “We, volunteers of free Russia, consider it our duty to help the Crimeans clear the peninsula of the war criminal Putin Please remain calm and assist us as much as possible."

On its Telegram channel, the Freedom For Russia Legion said that Crimea needs to be returned to Ukraine.

“Residents of the temporarily occupied Ukrainian Crimea! We do not recognize the quasi-referendum of 2014 and the criminal intervention of the Russian troops on the peninsula,” the group said. “The Legion considers it a matter of duty to return to Ukraine what is rightfully hers, in order to be able to build a new Russia with a clear conscience.”

The group then reached out to sympathetic residents for support, asking for information about:

• The exact location of the points of deployment and the address of residence of the occupying troops (geo-referencing with coordinates)
• Places of residence of the leadership of the occupying forces (geo-referencing with coordinates)
• Locations and routes of movement of military equipment
• Accurate data of local collaborators who went over to the side of the enemy (address of residence and location, georeference with coordinates, full name, position and place of work)
• Persons who "sympathize" with the occupiers and other supporters of the occupying power, and their data
  

  The Legion urged those who support Ukraine to avoid Russian sympathizers and to identify themselves to remain safe in case of an attack.

  “If you live nearby and are loyal to Ukraine, please let us know. Every life is dear to us, and we will do everything to save it. We are already close!”

  Russia, as we have mentioned before, has been building up fortifications in Crimea ahead of a potential invasion from Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ukraine has made no secret that it wants to liberate the peninsula and there are indications that probing efforts are underway in a counteroffensive aimed at closing off the land-bridge to the peninsula. Crimea has also come under frequent attack from Ukrainian aerial and sea drones and internal partisans as well. But this is the first indication that these supposedly Russian partisan groups may attack.
  

  The threat to raid Crimea comes on the heels of the two groups staging several incursions into Russian territory, including one apparently still ongoing in Belgorod Oblast, where fierce battles with Russian troops and security forces have been reported.

  “Let's just say that at the moment the Russian Volunteers are still on the territory of the Shebekinsky district there are battles of local significance the exact configuration of the front line, the position of the units I won’t name,” 'Caesar,' the Legion’s spokesman said in an interview with Mark Faygin, a YouTuber and lawyer who represented the likes of Pussy Riot and Greenpeace in Russia.
  

  A spokesman for Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) said that the groups are still engaged inside Belgorod.

  “Active hostilities and internal mass unrest in the Belgorod region continue,” said Andrii Yusov, adding that the two groups and local residents “with weapons in their hands rose up against the criminal Putin government and the regime of internal occupation established by it.”

  Russian authorities “left several settlements without control, trying only to establish fire control, which means the task of striking with artillery, rocket salvo fire systems on the objects of their own civilian infrastructure and local residents," Yusov said.

  
  "Support for the rebels among the local population is growing. This applies both to those willing to engage in armed struggle against Putin, and to local residents who are asking for protection," Yusov said, adding that Ukraine will consider requests for the evacuation of civilians from the Belgorod region.

  Whether these groups actually try to stage an incursion into Crimea remains to be seen. The peninsula is likely more heavily defended than Belgorod, given its strategic importance as the home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet as well as several air bases.

  But given the frequent drone attacks and Ukraine's publicly stated desire to kick Russia out of Crimea, occupation authorities there are clearly concerned about the future, hence the fortifications. If nothing else, this is at least another information operation to wear down the Russians.