The Kremlin-imposed head of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Crimea says Russian forces are strengthening positions on the peninsula as Ukrainian troops make gains in the nearby Kherson region. Sergei Aksyonov said in a post on Telegram on November 18 that he is overseeing "fortification work" in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Moscow used Crimea in February as one of the areas from which it launched its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv has said it intends to fight to recapture Crimea.
