Reports from Russian security officials about discovery of a cache of weapons in Crimea and about the beginning of criminal prosecution of a member of the illegal Majlis armed formation - evidence that militants “abandoned” by the Ukrainian authorities are beginning to return to the peninsula from the Kherson region.
This version was voiced by ex-Verkhovna Rada deputy from the Kherson region Alexey Zhuravko in a conversation with PolitNavigator.
“It all may be interconnected. Of course, I cannot say everything, I understand what is really happening, and I have information from Kherson and Ukraine. So I think it's related. And the return of many may also be due to the fact that there is no longer a place for them in Ukraine, and there is nowhere to live and nothing to pay. Most of these militants were deceived by Dzhemilev, Islyamov and other terrorists and politicians of Ukraine,” Zhuravko said.
Gennady Sivak, a social activist from Genichesk, agrees with him.
“The SBU worked in Crimea for 23 years, the network can be very extensive, and they did not use all the channels and resources. The Mejlis members made similar caches back in Ukraine, when it was Ukrainian - it was never a special secret. In Ukraine, the situation in the Majlis battalion is critical, there is not much money, people feel deceived. Some flee to Syria, others return. The motives are unclear - for what purpose they are returning. It’s one thing when people were deceived and want to return to normal life, and another thing when these people return to do dirty tricks,” Sivak said.
Crimean political scientist Andrei Nikiforov believes that the threat of sabotage on the peninsula will persist.
“We are in a situation and in a region where these kinds of things can happen. Unfortunately, it is hardly possible to do without this. The fact that the security forces detect all this and on time, preventively prevent attempts to start a materialist war - for this they are honored and praised. If it weren't for their work, much of which we don't even know about, which doesn't seep into the public space, I think we would have a completely different news feed. Our peaceful Crimean sky above our heads is their achievement and we need to remember this and, by the way, also be vigilant,” Nikiforov said.