On Tuesday, a series of large explosions occurred near a Russian military airbase in the Crimean peninsula, which Russia has annexed. Video from the incident showed large smoke plumes rising into the sky.
The Russian defense ministry said the blasts had been caused by detonated aviation ammunition, Russian state media RIA Novosti reported.
“Around 3:20 p.m., several aviation munitions detonated on the territory of the airfield ‘Saki’ near the settlement of Novofedorivka,” the ministry said in the statement, according to RIA Novosti.
Ambulance crews and an air ambulance were sent to the site of the explosions, according to the health ministry of the region.
Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser to the head of the Crimean region — which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 — confirmed several explosions had occurred near the village of Novofedorivka.
On his Telegram channel, Kryuchkov said: “So far, I can only confirm the fact of several explosions in the Novofedorivka area. I ask everyone to wait for official messages.”
Separately, Sergey Aksenov, the head of the so-called Republic of Crimea, said “I went to the scene in the village of Novofedorivka, Saki district. The circumstances are being clarified.”
There was no word from the Ukrainian side about any possible attacks in the area. Ukraine is not known to have struck the territory of Crimea since the Russian invasion began.