MOSCOW | Multiple explosions occurred Tuesday near a Russian military airfield in western Crimea, which Russian authorities said did not cause any casualties and were caused by exploding munitions.
Videos posted on social media showed a fireball forming after a loud explosion, while plumes of thick black smoke billowed into the sky.
Поки найкраще відео із моментом вибуху на військовому аеродромі поблизу м. Саки у тимчасово окупованому Криму🔥 pic.twitter.com/oXRPQswP8A
— Serhii Sternenko (@sternenko) August 9, 2022
“Several ammunition intended for aviation exploded at a depot on the territory of the Saki airbase near the city of Novofyodorovka,” the Russian army said in a statement.
The deposit in question was not the target of gunfire or bombing, she added, without specifying the origin of those explosions.
“No one was injured in the blast,” the same source said.
Shortly before, the local authorities had announced that there had been “several explosions” near the military airfield without explaining the cause.
Crimea, a peninsula annexed to Ukraine by Moscow in 2014, has been at the forefront of the Russian military offensive against its Ukrainian neighbor since the end of February.
Russian planes take off from Crimea almost daily to attack targets in regions controlled by Kyiv, and several areas of this peninsula are within range of Ukrainian weapons and drones.
Despite the conflict, Crimea has remained a major vacation spot for many Russians, who continue to enjoy the summers on its beaches.
“Tourists are not in danger. We ask you to remain calm,” said a Russian MP elected in Crimea, Alexei Tcherniak.