- Kyiv also maneuvers in Donbas while the Kremlin continues to punish the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia.

At least six killed by a Russian bombing of Kharkiv.

A Ukrainian soldier, in a trench near the front lines in the Huliaipole district, in the Zaporizhia region.

Crimea, the lever of Kyiv's new strategy in the war: a 'boomerang' to try to undermine Moscow's capabilities

That the war in Ukraine will be (very) long is something that both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky already seem to accept, but the conflict also seems destined for constant twists and turns and one of the last ones is motivated by the maneuvers of Kyiv on Crimea. The peninsula may indeed become something of a boomerang for the Kremlin: It was illegally annexed in 2014, and Zelensky insists the war started there and has to end there.

For now, in the last few hours, Russia has been caught off guard by Ukraine, which claims to have taken the initiative in hostilities. The Ukrainian Army has turned the campaign upside down with various sabotage actions in Donbas, the southern corridor, and the annexed Crimean peninsula, which have left the Russian enemy unanswered, according to the Ukrainian high command.

Putin's roadmap has been changing over the weeks and the Donbas has long been the main target. Crimea is what it already has; this is what you now want to achieve. And Kyiv says ready to respond. "Our strategy is to destroy logistics, supply lines, ammunition depots, and other military infrastructure. This causes chaos in the Russian ranks," said Mykhailo Podoliak, Volodimir Zelensky's senior adviser. Meanwhile, Kherson and Zaporizhia are the regions that are now suffering from all the Russian artillery and the most relevant of the clashes.

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Putin calculates that a chronic conflict can benefit Russia, with military capabilities greater than those of a Ukraine that remains heavily dependent on foreign aid while at the same time fighting the risk of ennui from Western partners. And it is that the war can stagnate, but it does not stop. And Kyiv wants to have the initiative. Last week, according to satellite images, nine Russian planes were destroyed in explosions at a military airfield caused by Ukrainian partisans, the Zelensky government admitted.

On Tuesday it was the turn of an arsenal with fuel and ammunition, an attack that forced the evacuation of thousands of people and that the Western press, citing official sources, attributes to special Ukrainian units. This Wednesday the key point was the Crimean bridge, the engineering work that broke the isolation of the territory and united the peninsula with the Russian mainland, it is no longer out of reach of the Ukrainian forces. "It is an illegal construction and it is the main port of supply for the Russian Army in Crimea. These infrastructures must be destroyed," Podolyak said.

Please do not go near the military facilities of the Russian army and all those places where they store ammunition and equipment, where they have their headquarters

In the thinking minds of Kyiv, the calendar is demanding and there is already talk of strategies for the medium term. In this sense, they recognize that the objective is to slow down the Russian advance in Donbas, which allows time to receive more Western heavy weapons, as happened in the long sieges of Mariupol and Severodonetsk. Both the Ukrainian and Russian authorities have warned that the sabotage actions will continue until the arrival of winter, which is expected to be really intense from the military point of view.

Precisely, Zelensky urges those who live in Russian or pro-Russian-controlled territory not to approach military installations. "I ask all our people in Crimea, in other regions in the south of the country, in the occupied areas of Donbas, and in the Kharkiv region to be very careful. Please do not approach the military facilities of the Russian army and all those places where they store ammunition and equipment, where they have their barracks," the Ukrainian president said. He also argued that the "main political-military task" of the Ukrainian forces is to put a stop to Russian movements.

Is Russia recruiting foreigners?

On the other hand, Ukrainian intelligence assures that due to the lack of Russian citizens willing to go to war, the Kremlin has begun the recruitment process among foreign citizens, while in Chechnya "volunteers" are trained to go to the front.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry maintains that Russian local authorities have instructed officials and security forces to carry out propaganda work to recruit foreign citizens to form new army units. According to the information handled by Kyiv, those who access, in addition to a salary, are offered Russian citizenship. The plan is especially aimed at citizens from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

In turn, the intelligence services of the Ministry of Defense maintain that the Chechen authorities are forcibly recruiting young "volunteers" from rural areas to send to the front, under the threat of initiating criminal charges against them if they do not comply. "The practice of kidnapping men to replenish volunteer military units fighting in Ukraine at Moscow's will is causing waves of discontent among residents of Chechnya," the Kyiv report said.

"The citizens of the republic are outraged" that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is sending Muslim youths "to participate and die in a 'foreign' war between two Christian nations."

The participation of foreigners in the war in Ukraine has been one of the most controversial points of the conflict. On the part of Russia, the presence of citizens of Central Asian countries is suspected, while Kyiv has not only confirmed the presence of foreigners in its ranks but has also applied an open-door policy to all those who wanted to intervene on its side.

Zelensky's thanks to Spain

In political terms, Volodimir Zelensky received on Wednesday the credentials of the new Spanish ambassador, Ricardo López-Aranda, and took the opportunity to thank Spain for the support it has provided in different areas since Russia began its military offensive on Ukrainian territory in February.

During a ceremony in Kyiv, Zelensky received accreditation from the main diplomatic representatives of Spain, Romania, Belgium, and Kyrgyzstan. The president has taken the opportunity to call the foreign presence in Ukraine, with messages of thanks to all these countries.

In the case of Spain, the Ukrainian president has applauded the aid provided in the humanitarian and military fields, "as well as the support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to a statement from his office. Likewise, he praised the support of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, for the second summit of the Crimea Platform, a virtual meeting that will take place on August 23 and that, according to Kyiv, will bring together dozens of political representatives and organizations.

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