According to the Russian ministry, Ukrainian ‘sabotage’ was the cause of the explosion at the depot in the town of Mayskoye. According to Russia, the explosion was preceded by a fire in a temporary storage area of the depot. The Russian authorities did not say how the sabotage by the Ukrainian army would have led to the fire and explosion.
According to Russian state media, an area with a radius of 5 kilometers has been cordoned off around the depot and at least 2,000 residents have been evacuated from the region. The Russian state news agency Tass reports two injured, without serious injuries.
An anonymous Ukrainian government official reports at The New York Times that an elite Ukrainian military unit operating behind enemy lines was responsible for the blast. Ukraine has not yet officially responded to the alleged involvement in the attack.
Hours after the explosions, Andri Jermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, had hinted at a Ukrainian role in the events on Twitter. His country’s military remains committed ‘to completely rid our country of Russian invaders’, he wrote. “Crimea is Ukraine.” The Ukrainian Air Force alluded to via Twitter on involvement by sharing a video of the explosion near Dzjanko.
?? do not comply with fire safety. – Yuri Ignat, speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of .
Details: “Dzhankoy (Crimea) is another airfield where the ?? have concentrated attack helicopters and other military equipment.”
Dzhankoy today ️ pic.twitter.com/SsG1DrIIae
— Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) August 16, 2022
Plumes of smoke at Simferopol . airbase
Later on Tuesday, Russian media also reported explosions in central Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Plumes of black smoke are said to be visible at a military airbase a few dozen kilometers north of Simferopol, the capital of the autonomous republic on the peninsula.
Several explosions also took place on the peninsula in the Black Sea at the beginning of last week. According to the Russians, the explosions at a military airport were an accident without significant material damage, but satellite images later showed that at least eight Russian warplanes and two buildings had been completely or largely destroyed. The Ukrainian government did not admit its involvement, but several military experts considered it plausible.
Meanwhile, the Russian army, almost six months after it started the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, still has little control over the Black Sea. According to the intelligence services of the United Kingdom Russia has even withdrawn most of its warships to the Crimean coastline. The fleet would only support the Russian ground soldiers with long-range missiles.
In recent months, the Russian army has already suffered some painful defeats in the battle on and around the water. At the end of June, for example, it withdrew headlong from Snake Island, a piece of rock located about 200 kilometers west of Crimea and of great strategic value as well as symbolic value. In April, Ukraine completely unexpectedly sank the flagship of the Russian fleet, the Moskva.