This afternoon, deadly blasts shook a military installation in Russian-controlled Crimea as swimmers scurried from surrounding beaches under the threat of a mushroom cloud.
Around 3:30 pm local time this afternoon, up to 15 different explosions were reportedly seen by witnesses over the period of a minute.
Around 30 minutes later, a third explosion occurred, sending huge plumes of thick, black smoke toward the base at Novofedorivka, Western Crimea, which is 130 kilometres away from the closest Ukrainian-controlled area.
Although Ukraine has not yet formally taken credit for the strike, an anonymous Ukrainian military officer informed the New York Times that the nation’s armed forces were behind it.
The official said that “a device completely of Ukrainian manufacture was employed” to carry out the strike, adding that “this was an air base from which [Russian] jets frequently took off for attacks against our soldiers in the southern theatre.”
Five individuals, including one kid, were hurt in the blasts, according to the director of Crimea’s health department, while one person was murdered, according to Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian governor of Crimea.
I send the victim’s family and friends my deepest sympathies. I’ll give you whatever help you need,’ he assured her using the Telegram chat service.
Despite strong criticism from a large portion of the international community, Russia occupies the Crimean peninsula after annexing it from Ukraine in 2014.
Since Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine on February 24, if the airfield was in fact attacked by the Ukrainians, it would be the first documented significant strike on a Russian military installation in Crimea.
The closest portion of Ukrainian territory that is not seized by Putin’s forces is more than 130 miles away from Novofedorivka, and the country’s government has not yet claimed responsibility for the explosions.
The political scientist Viktor Andrusiv, a former advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, remarked on Telegram, “As you can understand – missiles with a range of 200-300km are already in service with us and are being utilised in our nation.”
“Public confirmation of this is provided by the explosions that occurred today at the airstrip in Novofedorivka, Crimea.”
In the meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry disputed that incoming missile fire was to blame for the explosions, saying instead that “aircraft munitions exploded at the “Saky” airport near the town of Novofedorivka at a debris storage site.”
‘At the airstrip, no aviation equipment was harmed. The subsequent fire is being put out as steps are made to find out what caused the explosion.
‘According to the site report, there was no fire effect on the airfield’s collapsed ammo storage facility,’
Videos of the aftermath of the blasts with vacationers running from a nearby beach and authorities telling people to seek shelter were uploaded on the Telegram messaging service.
A 5 kilometre safety zone was reportedly set up around the airstrip, according to local authorities.
The Black Sea Fleet’s 43rd Separate Naval Assault Aviation Regiment of Russia is stationed at the airfield between Saky and Novofedorivka.
The facility is home to several Russian air force aircraft, notably the Tu-134 freighter and the fighter jets Su-30SM, Su-24M, and Su-24MP.
Since President Vladimir Putin sent Russian military troops into Ukraine on February 24, including those headquartered in the peninsula, Crimea has so far been spared the severe bombing and artillery fire that have occurred in other parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
In response to questions about the event, Governor Aksyonov’s adviser Oleg Kryuchkov told Russia’s RIA Novosti: “So far, I can only state that numerous explosions happened in the Novofedorivka region.
“I request that everyone refrain from creating their own interpretation of events and instead wait for official statements.”
Aksyonov first told his Telegram followers that he was headed to the explosion scene and that “circumstances are being explained” before he quickly tried to allay the villagers’ fears and acknowledged that one person had been killed.
There are sufficient ambulance teams and medical aviation on the scene, he added.
“It is too soon to discuss the victims.” Nobody from the civilian population has yet requested assistance from medical facilities.
I humbly request that you only believe official information.
To guarantee the security of the people and the infrastructure, all required precautions have been enhanced.
Locals reported traffic jams on highways heading away from the shore as people evacuated, and the regional health ministry confirmed that emergency personnel from the adjacent town of Saky had been sent to the bomb site.
At least three Ukrainian citizens were killed and 23 were injured by Russian shelling in the previous day, according to Ukrainian authorities.
One of the attacks occurred not far from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility.
According to Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko, the Russians launched around 120 missiles towards the town of Nikopol, which is located across the Dnieper River from the facility.
In recent days, Ukraine and Russia have accused one another of bombarding the power facility, which is the largest nuclear reactor in Europe, escalating global concerns of a disaster.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, referred to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant tragedy in his weekly video message.
At the time, Ukraine was still a Soviet country. He demanded new sanctions against Russia and charged it with endangering another nuclear catastrophe.
He declared, “We are actively educating the world about Russian nuclear blackmail.”
According to the Kremlin, the Ukrainian military was bombing the facility, and it pleaded with Western nations to put pressure on Kyiv to cease.