The fact that explosions in Crimea - a place previously considered to be well beyond the reach of any Ukrainian attack - were watched by thousands of Russian tourists, many of whom have since fled Crimea back into Russia, has had a psychological effect in Moscow, officials told the media.
That reads like the Ukrainians chose the time to attack not just to hit the airbase, but to coordinate it with the height of the holiday season to cause the maximum effect at home when the shocked fleeing tourists would return to the likes of Moscow, there was no way of controlling nor keeping a lid on that story, all their false stories being shown on the Russian news channels would be shown for what they are.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...bef336a0bd9826