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Since the annexation of Ukraine to Ukraine in 2014, Russia has regularly introduced new military equipment in Crimea, transformed into what the Kremlin-backed media have described as a fortress .
Moscow's announcement of new missiles follows the seizure on Sunday of three Ukrainian navy ships and their crews for what was, according to her, an illegal entry into Russian waters, which 39, Ukraine denies.
After the incident, Kiev adopted martial law in some parts of the country, fearing a Russian invasion.
The episode is likely to defeat a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 in Argentina later this week. Trump said Tuesday that he could cancel the meeting due to the incident, but the Kremlin said Wednesday that he thought it was still the case.
Russian news agencies said on Wednesday that Vadim Astafyev, spokesman for the southern military district of Russia, reportedly announced that a new S-400 missile battalion would soon be delivered to Crimea and operational in the near future. here the end of the year.
The deployment would probably have been planned in the long term, but the timing of the announcement seemed intended to send Ukraine and the West a message that Russia really wanted to defend what she sees as her own territory and her own waters.
Crimea already houses three battalions of anti-aircraft missile systems with a maximum range of 400 km (250 miles) allowing Russia to control large expanses of skies over the Black Sea.
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The new deployment would allow him to expand his area of coverage of air defense.
The United States has already stated that Russia's deployment of missile systems in Crimea is "not good".
On the other hand, a Reuters correspondent in Crimea observed on Wednesday a Russian minesweeping ship of the Russian Navy, Vice Admiral Zakharin, which was heading towards the Azov Sea, which is used by the Russian Navy. Ukraine and Russia, which is causing increasing tension.
Citing sources among Ukrainian leaders, the Russian Izvestia newspaper announced that Kiev was trying to persuade Washington – unsuccessfully so far – to open a military base in Ukraine.
Reuters could not confirm the report independently.
Later Wednesday, a Crimean court must order the arrest of nine of the 24 captured Ukrainian sailors, including senior officers of the Ukrainian Navy and at least one member of the Ukrainian SBU intelligence agency.
A court in Simferopol, capital of Crimea, on Tuesday ordered the detention of 15 other Ukrainian sailors for two months while awaiting trial.
All sailors face a six-year prison sentence if they are found guilty of what Moscow claims to be a plot to cross the Russian border illegally by attempting to cross the Kerch Strait on Sunday. controlled by the Russians without notice and ignoring the calls. Stop.
The Ukraine claims that its ships have done nothing wrong and that they are perfectly entitled to use the strait, the only gateway to the sea Azov from the Black Sea, without Russian authorization.
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