Why is Crimea so important?

Following recent the Ukrainian attack on the HQ of Russia's Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol, is Kyiv getting ready to retake the peninsula?The BBC’s James Waterhouse and defence and security analyst Michael Clarke assess the significance of the Sevastopol strike and discuss the reported death the commander of the Black Sea Fleet.And Maria Tomak, from the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, explains Ukraine’s plans for the future of Crimea.Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producers were Keiligh Baker, Arsenii Sokolov and Ivana Davidovic. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email [email protected] with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord00:05 - Crimea teaser 01:16 - Crimea's history and identity 05:41 - Ukraine's increasing attacks on Crimea 08:29 - Russia's Black Sea fleet commander 15:49 - The future of Crimea