An arms store in occupied Crimea has been hit by a series of explosions, with Russian authorities blaming “saboteurs”.
The Kremlin made a rare admission that Ukraine-loyal armed groups were behind the explosions in Maiske which hurt the military logistics and supply lines. The explosions on Tuesday follow a similar incident in the Crimea last week which Russian forces said at the time was an accident.
The attack last week destroyed warplanes on the Black Sea coast.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that nobody had been seriously injured but the latest explosions had damaged power lines, an electricity substation, railway infrastructure and some housing.
The ammunition storage site was targeted at roughly 3.15am by the saboteurs, although it has not been stated how they triggered the blasts.
Crimea was seized by Russia in 2014 who used the peninsula to build up their resources before launching a full-blown invasion of Ukraine on multiple fronts in February.
Russian-appointed regional head Sergei Aksyonov said: “One man has a shrapnel wound, and one was crushed by a wall. Their lives are not in danger, fortunately.”
Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak celebrated news of the explosions online but stopped short of declaring his nation was behind an attack.
He said: “Crimea (as a) normal country is about the Black Sea, mountains, recreation and tourism, but Crimea occupied by Russians is about warehouse explosions and high risk of death for invaders and thieves.”
There were some reports of native Russians fleeing Crimea in fear of a resurgent Ukraine launching missile attacks.
