Crimea Videos Show Fires Blazing As Space Radar Targeted with ATACMS—Report

Ukraine has struck a Russian deep space network hub in annexed Crimea—allegedly used by Russian Aerospace Forces—using U.S.-supplied missiles, according to local reports.

Kyiv's forces launched the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) attack across Crimea on Sunday night, and "successfully struck" Russia's Center for Long-Range Space Communications in the village of Vitino in the Saky region, open-source intelligence X (formerly Twitter) account OSINTtechnical said.

"Multiple areas of the facility are burning," the account said.

The center is one of three complexes that make up Russia's Yevpatoria Center for Deep Space Communications, which supports manned and robotic space missions. The facility was reportedly previously struck in December 2023 with British-supplied Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles.

Attacks on Crimea have ramped up throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, as Kyiv looks to reclaim the Black Sea peninsula. The region was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Ukraine has frequently attacked Russian military bases, saying they are legitimate targets in the ongoing war.

The Crimea-based Telegram channel Crimean Wind published satellite images, saying they confirm fires in Vitino and near the Russian deep space network hub.

"Satellites note two fires near the Russian 40th separate command and measuring complex (Long-Range Space Communications Center, NIP-16, military unit 81415)," the channel said.

Videos circulating on social media showed huge fires, reportedly in Crimea, following the strikes.

Russian authorities haven't commented on the reported strikes, and Kyiv hasn't claimed responsibility. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry and Ukraine's Foreign Ministry for comment via email.

It comes after the Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of carrying out an attack against the port city of Sevastopol in Crimea using short-range ATACMS armed with cluster munitions on Sunday, causing civilian casualties.

Kyiv didn't comment on the attacks.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, noted in its latest analysis of the conflict in Ukraine on Sunday that Russian military bloggers have widely criticized the Russian Ministry of Defense and Kremlin-installed officials in Crimea for failing to prevent the strike and protect Russian civilians.

The think tank said Russia "likely purposefully stations legitimate military targets nearby civilian areas in Crimea in an effort to deter Ukrainian strikes."

"Russia is likely violating its own regulations on the application of International Humanitarian Law, which states that 'the military command shall avoid deploying military objectives in densely populated areas or in their vicinity,'" the ISW said.

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