1 killed as blasts rock Russian airbase in annexed Crimea
- Moscow says explosions were detonations of stored ammunition, not the result of an attack
- Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and used it as one of the launch pads for its Ukraine invasion in February
One person was killed on Tuesday when a Russian airbase near seaside resorts in the annexed Crimean peninsula was rocked by a series of blasts that Moscow said were detonations of stored ammunition, not the result of any attack.
Local witnesses said they heard at least 12 explosions around 3.20pm local time from the Saky airbase near Novofedorivka on the west coast of the peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 and used in February as one of the launch pads for its invasion of Ukraine.
Crimea, a holiday destination for many Russians, has so far been spared the intense bombardment and artillery combat that other areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have suffered since Russian forces entered the country.
Russia’s defence ministry was adamant that the “detonation of several aviation ammunition stores” had caused an explosion, and said initially that no one had been harmed. It said there had been no attack and no aviation equipment had been damaged.
Russia’s main news agencies quoted an unnamed ministry source as saying that “only a violation of fire safety requirements is considered as the main reason for the explosion of several ammunition stores at the Saky airfield”.
