Russian security forces inspect cars and documents in Sudak and other cities of occupied Crimea

Since September 17, Russian Bars-Crimea units have been conducting large-scale “military exercise” in occupied Crimea together with the defence ministry, Federal Service of the National Guard, and the ministry of internal affairs of Russia. According to the head of the occupation administration of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov, the “exercise” aims to “counteract the penetration of enemy sabotage groups into the territory of the peninsula”.

The Crimean occupation administration announced the possibility of a complete blockade of towns and administrative districts for “exercise purposes”, local media and Telegram channels reported.

On September 26, an “exercise” took place in Sudak and other cities of the peninsula. The occupiers set up checkpoints and checked cars and passengers’ documents.

“The head of the republic spoke out, appealed to the citizens of the peninsula to everyone to react to these “exercises” with understanding as checkpoints are deployed, inspection activities are carried out, and documents are checked. I think that the residents of the peninsula will in favour of this, as they are doing all of this intended for the safety of the citizens of the peninsula”, said Aleksandr Kombarov, the commander of the Bars-Crimea battalion.

In the neighboring Alushta, on the morning of September 26, a lot of Russian soldiers were seen, and checkpoints were set up at crossroads. There were also reports of “military exercise” of the Crimean “territorial defense” in Yalta.

The activists of the Crimean office of the international movement for the reoccupation of Crimea “#LiberateCrimea” suggested in a comment to Krym.Realii that one of the tasks of the “exercise” was to identify the Crimean pro-Ukrainian underground.

The most recent report of an attempted infiltration by a Ukrainian “subversive and reconnaissance group” was made by the Russian FSB in October 2023. Then, representatives of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine landed a military force on the occupied peninsula.

Later, the Russians reported the alleged capture of a “saboteur” who had participated in an attempted landing in Crimea. They published an alleged video of the questioning. A representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine declined to comment on this video.