“AThings are going well for him. Well, not all. But he is meeting his main objectives. I am sure that the Crimeans will support him,” said Putin, in a videoconference meeting with Axionov.

Axionov has been in power since the annexation of that territory a decade ago (2014), when he also openly supported the armed uprising in Donbass (eastern Ukraine).

According to the Russian newspaper Vedomosti, the per capita income of Crimeans in 2013 was 3.9 times lower than the Russian average and salaries were 2.6 times lower than those in the rest of Russia.

However, ten years later, the situation has not changed considerably, since, according to the RIA Rating agency, Crimea occupies 75th place in a list with the income levels of the population of 85 regions, which makes it a of the poorest federal entities in the Russian Federation.

According to this indicator, 17.6% of Crimea’s inhabitants live below the poverty line — one of the worst numbers in Russia.

The president of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov, acknowledged that the region survives thanks to “large financial packages” and estimated that only 30% of the regional budget comes from its own revenue and the rest from the federal budget.

The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service claimed to have destroyed four S-400 missile launchers, three radar stations, a checkpoint and aerospace surveillance equipment in its early Wednesday attack on a military airfield in Dzhankoi.

In the absence of official confirmation, Russian channels on the digital platform Telegram reported on Wednesday about explosions at the airfield, an operation claimed by a group of Ukrainian guerrillas who operate in Crimea and identify themselves as Atesh.

In his address to the nation on Wednesday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the Army for the “precision” demonstrated in the attack on the airfield.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, with the argument of protecting pro-Russian separatist minorities in the east and “denazifying” the neighboring country, independent since 1991, after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, and which has been move away from Moscow’s space of influence and get closer to Europe and the West.

The war in Ukraine has already caused tens of thousands of deaths on both sides, and the two belligerents remain unyielding in their territorial positions and are not open to negotiating concessions.

Recent months have been marked by large-scale Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, while Kiev’s forces have targeted targets on Russian territory close to the border and on the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014.

Already in the third year of war, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been faced with a lack of weapons and ammunition, despite repeated promises of help from Western allies.

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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2543841/putin-apoia-reeleicao-de-lider-da-crimeia-apos-ataque-ucraniano

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