Demilitarization of Crimea to continue according to plan - defense intel spox

All planned work of Ukraine’s security and defense forces toward full demilitarization of the Ukrainian Crimea will continue.

That’s according to Andriy Yusov, the spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, commenting on the latest operations of the Ukrainian forces on the Crimean peninsula, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Regarding the sinking of two small landing vessels of the Russian Black Sea fleet, Yusov noted: "This is really good news for us. In particular, Ukrainian naval drones have once again proved extremely effective."

According to him, the mission had taken a while to prepare thoroughly. "This is an extremely successful operation because it is not just about two destroyed landing craft that are modern enough for the Russian fleet – they were also carriers of... air defense systems, which were supposed to cover other vessels of the aggressor's Black Sea fleet. The enemy cannot replace them at the moment," Yusov said.

He added: "Planned work on the demilitarization of Ukrainian Crimea from invaders ... will continue."

According to the GUR representative, strikes launched at Russia’s military assets in Crimea affect the invaders’ morale. "Now we see intensive work on destroying depots, clusters, and deployment bases in the occupied territories. Of course, this affects the moral and psychological condition of our enemy. Many, even of those who signed the contract, would like to desert already. But ... no one asks them to anymore," Yusov noted.

He recalled that recently, newly mobilized soldiers in the occupied Crimea assaulted a Russian colonel, who succumbed to his injuries in hospital, and "such cases are not unique."

As reported, overnight Friday, November 10, the Ukrainian drones hit and sank two Russian high-speed landing craft of the 11770 Serna class in temporarily occupied Crimea.

The vessels were carrying a crew and had armored vehicles on board, including a BTR-82 APC.

Russia actively employed small landing craft of this class during the initial occupation of Snake Island to bring in military equipment and personnel. In addition, Tor-M2 air defense systems were spotted on board these vessels to provide cover for the enemy group on the island and out in the Black Sea.