While the fury of conflict echoes across the eastern Donbas region, a very different war is being waged in Crimea: one of night-time explosions, sabotage and disinformation.
Reclaiming Crimea may seem like an unlikely quest for Ukraine but it is putting considerable effort into making Russia’s occupation as uncomfortable as possible. And the Russians are going to great lengths to fortify the peninsula, which they illegally annexed in 2014. That includes hiring legions of workers to build fortifications and trenches.
There are also occasional curfews in towns near Crimea, such as Chaplynka, through which Russian armor frequently passes – most likely to prevent any information being passed to the Ukrainian military. Ukraine alleged that last week the Russian National Guard raided Chaplynka and inspected locals’ documents, phones and vehicles. Another aspect to the low-key conflict in Crimea is disinformation.