[5][6] Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said in July 2022 that the consequence of an attack on Crimea will be that, "the Day of Judgment will come for all of them there at once.

"[9] It has been speculated that the GLSDB might allow Ukraine to target the Dzhankoi airfield in northern Crimea,[10] described as the logistics hub of the Russian army.

[11] Dzhankoi is a critical rail and road hub in the supply network Russia has been using in its attack on Ukraine[12] and, along with its surrounding areas, has been described as the largest Russian military base in Crimea.

[13] Ukraine holds the territory across the Dnieper River from Nova Kakhovka[14] (close to where the North Crimean Canal begins).

[16] It has also been estimated that if Ukraine were able to advance to Prymorsk on their southern coast, this would put the Crimean Bridge over the Kerch Strait within range of the GLSDB.

[19][20] While this falls short of the 300 km (190 mi) range of the U.S. made ATACMS,[21] it would allow a Storm Shadow missile fired by Ukraine from an aircraft flying above the city of Kherson to reach Russia's Sevastopol Naval Base in southern Crimea, home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet[22] (distance 245 km (152 mi)).

[23] On 24 August, 2023, the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine's Independence Day, the HUR announced that Air Force and Navy intelligence were involved in a special operation near the towns of Mayak and Olenivka on the Tarkhankut Peninsula, which saw a seaborne landing and airborne deployment of Ukrainian personnel on Crimea.

The HUR announced that all objectives of the operation were completed, Russian forces suffered casualties, and that the Ukrainian state flag was once again flown over the Crimean peninsula.

[24][25][26] On 1 October, there were explosions at the Belbek military airport near Sevastopol, the air defense system allegedly shot down a drone in the area.

[33] Ukrainian officials denied involvement in the attack, but pointed out the weakness of Russia's air defense system in Crimea.

[36] On 23 August, several explosions were heard, the anti-aircraft missile system also went off near the city, the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said that a drone was shot down over the sea.

[43] One of the ships that appeared to be damaged in videos was the Admiral Makarov, Russia's Black Sea Fleet new flagship, following the sinking of the Moskva.

[42] Russia accused Ukraine and the United Kingdom of being involved in the preparation of the attacks, with Russian representatives saying that the attack was "carried out under the leadership of British specialists who are in the city of Ochakiv (Mykolaiv region) of Ukraine", Russian authorities also claimed that the same unit of "British specialists" was involved in the "terrorist act in the Baltic Sea", when the gas pipelines "Nord Stream" and "Nord Stream - 2" were blown up.

[57] On 25 August, the Ukrainian military and the SBU launched a joint drone strike on the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Perevalne, reportedly inflicting "dozens" of casualties.

According to a number of sources, the strike was carried out using Storm Shadow cruise missiles,[60][61][62] which are designed to penetrate deeply into their targets and inflict maximum damage in a two-phase process.

[66] On 22 September, Ukraine launched a missile strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol Naval Base.

Ukraine's intelligence agencies reported that the strike, which it codenamed "Operation Crab Trap", killed 34 officers and wounded at least 100 other Russian servicemen.

On 31 January, 2024, 31 the Ukrainian Air Force said it launched a missile strike on Belbek airbase, damaging three Russian military aircraft.

A subsequent strike then destroyed the launcher component of an S-400 air defence system near the village of Vyshneve (about 70km from Belbek) killing two Russian soldiers.

[93] The Russian-installed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, confirmed there was a strike and the region's air defense system was activated.

[98] On 19 July, there was a fire and numerous explosions at a Russian ammunition depot near Staryi Krym, forcing the evacuation of four villages and the closure of the nearby Tavrida Highway.

[99] Three days later, another Russian ammunition depot was struck by drones in Krasnohvardiiske Raion, forcing the evacuation of a five-kilometer radius.

[100] On 28 July, Ukraine's intelligence agency said that saboteurs blew up an ammunition warehouse at Kozacha Bay, the headquarters of the Russian 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade.

[109] A Ukrainian exploding drone boat severely damaged the Russian tanker Sig in the Kerch Strait on 5 August.

[110] On 5 August 2023, the tanker was reported to have been the target of a naval drone attack by Ukrainian forces in the Black Sea 17 kilometres (11 mi) south of the Crimean Bridge which damaged the engine room on the starboard side.

[113]On 7 October, Ukraine launched a drone attack against a fuel depot in Feodosia causing explosions and fire[114] detected by NASA's FIRMS.

The occupation authorities of the Russian Federation in the region announced the activation of air defense and the destruction of several drones.

[124] On 1 February, Ukrainian sea drones sunk the Russian missile corvette Ivanovets in Donuzlav Bay, on the west coast of Crimea.

[125][126] On 5 March, the Russian patrol ship Sergey Kotov, along with an on-board helicopter, was sunk by Ukrainian naval drones near the Kerch Strait.