President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said its war with Russia must end at where it all began, Crimea.
On Tuesday, he said Crimea must be liberated.
“This Russian war…began with Crimea and must end with Crimea – with its liberation. Crimea is Ukrainian and we will never give it up,” he is quoted to have said.
He made the comment following a string of explosions that hit a Russian airbase there, killing one person, leaving eight others injured.
On Tuesday, a series of explosions rocked the Saky military base near Novofedorivka, in the west of Crimea – which is near seaside resorts popular with Russian tourists.
Novofedorivka and Saky are about 50km (30 miles) north of the port of Sevastopol, home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which has been leading a blockade of the Ukrainian coastline. The airbase had been used by Russia to launch attacks on targets deep inside Ukraine.
Footage circulating on social media showed beachgoers running as the explosions hit, with witnesses saying they had heard at least 12 blasts.
Crimea is globally recognised as part of Ukraine, however, the Black Sea peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014 after a referendum which the global community sees as illegitimate.
It is reported that this may have begun the war with Russia.
On the matter, Russia’s Defence Ministry has indicated that the blasts were due to ammunition that had exploded in a store and that there was no “fire impact” from outside – although this has not been independently verified.
Also, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak has denied allegations that Ukraine was behind the blasts.
“Of course not. What do we have to do with this?” he is quoted to have said on Dozhd online television channel.
Per international reports, any attack on Crimea by Ukraine would be considered deeply serious by Moscow.
Russia sounded a warning last month when ex-President Dmitry Medvedev threatened last month that “Judgement Day will instantly await” if Ukraine targeted Crimea.
In other news, Ukrainian officials say 13 people were killed in overnight Russian strikes in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, and another one in the Zaporizhzhia region in the south.