 Ukraine announces major operation in Crimea amid Black Sea actions. The chief of the main directorate of intelligence of Ukraine, Kirill Obudanov, has announced the preparation of a significant operation in Crimea amid the actions carried out by the reconnaissance units of combat missions referring to the main directorate of intelligence's documentary film, War for the Sea, from the Nipro to Crimea, commenting on the significance of the combat missions carried out by the reconnaissance units, particularly in the Black Sea and in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, Obudanov said that these are all preparatory measures for a serious operation in Crimea. This is a test of the accuracy of our claims about the routes of approach and withdrawal from there. Also, it is a morale boost for the population that's been living under occupation for already 10 years. Many of them believe they have been forgotten. Kirill Obudanov said the main directorate of intelligence disclosed operations successfully executed by the department's special forces in the summer of 2023. The Shaman's special forces unit crossed to the left bank of the Nipro River in the Kursan region. After destroying and capturing invaders, the first steps were taken towards establishing a left bank bridgehead in that area. Also in July of last year, the Timor special forces unit regained control of the state-owned oil and gas extraction platform Ukraine, and later participated in the Crimea operation Awakening of Strength. Regarding the destruction of enemy fleet ships, the main directorate of intelligence said that this is the responsibility area of the Group 13 special forces unit. On the night of February 1st, Ukrainian forces destroyed the missile boat Ivanovets of the Russian Black Sea fleet. As reported by the main directorate of intelligence, the Ivanovets boat was to some extent the pride of the Russian fleet. There were only three units of such ships. It could accommodate up to 40 Russian sailors. Furthermore, near the shores of the temporarily occupied Crimea on February the 14th, the main directorate of intelligence and the armed forces of Ukraine destroyed the Russian large landing ship Cezar Kunikov near Alupka off the coast of Crimea. On the night of March 5th, 2024, the special forces unit, Group 13 of the main directorate of intelligence of Ukraine, attacked the patrol ship Sergei Kotov of the Russian Black Sea fleet. More countries warn about terrorism in Russia after Moscow plot thwarted. More countries have joined the United States in warning their citizens in Russia to avoid crowds over an imminent terrorist threat shortly after Russian officials said they thwarted an attempted attack on a Moscow synagogue, according to Newsweek. A security alert issued warned that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow was monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow to include concerts and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings. The British Embassy in Moscow quickly shared the warnings while advising U.K. nationals to avoid all travel to Russia. At least six of the nations had joined in warning their citizens about the alleged threat, including Canada, Germany, Sweden, South Korea, Latvia, and the Czech Republic. While the nature of the threat was nonspecific, Russia's Federal Security Service said in a statement that it had prevented an attempt by an Islamic State terror cell to commit a terrorist act against one of the Jewish religious institutions in Moscow, according to Russian state media agency TAS. Active search measures established that they were militants of an international terrorist organization preparing an attack on the congregation of a synagogue with the use of firearms, the FSB statement reads. During an operation to detain them, the terrorists put armed resistance to Russian FSB staff and as a result were neutralized by return fire. It continues. It was unclear whether or not the purported synagogue attack plan was tied to the threat that the U.S. Embassy claimed soon after. The U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek that there was no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas but declined comment on any potential connection pointing out the department's policy of avoiding the disclosure of information on intelligence matters. Weapons that help Ukrainian armed forces destroy Russian fighter jets identified. Over two years of full-scale war, Russia could have lost at least three times as many planes as the average. The Ukrainian military managed to shoot down Russian jets with the help of a certain technique. They took some of the components from the U.S. Patriot missile battery and combined them into mobile groups. This was reported by the telegraph. A pair of four-cornered Patriot launchers connected to long-range radars via radio communications could ambush Russian aircraft 144 km away. The publication believes this is what allowed the Ukrainians to shoot down several Russian fighter jets late last year. On February the 23rd, the destruction of a Russian A-50 aircraft over the Sea of Azov occurred 193 km from the front line but that's a long distance from Patriot. The only missile system with this range that Ukraine has, however, is the Soviet era S-200. The Ukrainian Air Force decommissioned its S-200s in 2013 but returned some of them last year. However, it is not clear what radars orient these missiles as the original Soviet ones emit a lot of energy so they give away the missile launch and give pilots time to evade. The Ukrainians may have found a more devious way to use these missiles. In February 2023, the Biden administration announced a military aid package that included equipment to integrate Western launchers, missiles and radars with Ukraine's air defense systems. Analysts see this as a curtsy to the US Army's integrated battle command system. Specifically, it is a set of processes, radio channels and algorithms that allow almost any air defense radar and missile to work together. The development of integrated battle command system is not yet fully complete but it is close. The Americans have not yet deployed any major components of integrated battle command system but the Poles have done so, the reporters said.