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| Sergei Malgavko/TASS via ZUMA Press |
An ammunition depot in Russian-occupied Crimea exploded on Tuesday in an assumed Ukrainian attack — the second in just over a week on the contested peninsula.
Videos circulating on social media showed columns of smoke rising from a blaze near the village of Mayskoye in the northern part of Crimea. According to Russian state TV, a nearby electrical station also caught fire, wreaking havoc on local rail traffic.
Russians blamed the explosion — which forced the evacuation of some 3,000 people — on an act of sabotage, but didn’t explicitly accuse Ukraine of carrying it out.
An additional blast was reported by Russian business newspaper Kommersant, which quoted locals saying they saw plumes of smoke over a Russian air base in Gvardeyskoye, Crimea.
The apparent attack comes eight days after explosions rocked a Russian airfield in the Saki district of Crimea, destroying multiple attack aircraft and leaving craters visible in satellite photos. --->READ MORE HERE
Explosions at Russian air base and ammunition depot mark a new phase in Kyiv’s efforts to degrade Moscow’s forces
Russian forces seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 with barely a fight, and Vladimir Putin said it would belong to Moscow forever.
Eight years later, blasts at a Russian air base and ammunition depot there—the result of Ukrainian attacks, according to senior officials in Kyiv —have exposed Moscow’s vulnerability and made the peninsula the latest battleground in the continuing war between the neighbors.
Ukraine’s immediate goal isn’t to retake Crimea, but degrade Russia’s ability to wage war in the south and east, where Kyiv is seeking to regain territory captured by Moscow’s armies. Crimea is home to large Russian bases and plays a critical role in supplying forces elsewhere.
For two months, Kyiv has used long-range rocket launchers furnished by the U.S. to hit targets in Russian-held territory on the Ukrainian mainland. The Crimea strikes demonstrate Ukraine’s ability to hit deep into Russian areas that are beyond the range of those U.S. weapons.
An attack at Saki air base last week destroyed at least eight Russian warplanes, according to satellite images and Ukrainian and Western officials. Russia said ammunition detonated and no planes were lost. Tuesday, a Russian ammunition depot in northern Crimea was rocked by explosions.
Ukrainian officials haven't publicly taken credit for the strikes, but senior officials have said they are the work of Ukrainian forces. Tuesday’s attack was carried out by Ukrainian saboteurs, an official said. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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