Ukraine claims nine Russian military planes were destroyed in an attack on Saky airport, believed to have been carried out by Ukrainian resistance forces.
One person was killed on Tuesday when explosions rocked a Russian air base near seaside resorts in the western Crimean peninsula. According to Ukraine, nine Russian planes were destroyed in the explosions.
In Saky, tourists told Reuters they heard several explosions.
According to Reuters, the explosions took place at the Saky air base. According to witnesses, at least 12 explosions occurred at three in the morning local time.
A resident of nearby Novofedorivka told of the family’s escape after the windows were smashed in.
– The house swayed, the windows broke and fragments flew towards my wife. I didn’t understand what happened, he said Viktor Lenitchenko.
He says that the family crawled into the bathroom and heard more explosions. In the end, the family had escaped from the house.
Sumy’s base is located 200 kilometers from Ukrainian forces, so it has been considered too far for the strike to have been carried out with the American Himars missile system.
The cause of the explosions is unclear
“It was an air base from which planes regularly took off to attack our forces in the south,” the official said.
The official did not want to reveal the type of weapon used in the attack. He said that “only Ukrainian-made equipment was used” in the attack.
According to a Ukrainian official, the attack involved partisan resistance forces loyal to the Ukrainian government. However, he did not say whether these forces carried out the attack or assisted regular Ukrainian military units.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attacks. President of Ukraine to Volodymyr Zelensky adviser Myhailo Podoljak hinted that partisans may have been involved in the blasts.
Russia won’t concede the blow
It is feared that Russia will accuse Ukraine of going too far, because Russia considers Crimea to be its soil.
However, Russia has stuck to its position that no attack has been made on the Crimean peninsula. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, there was an explosion in the munitions warehouses and Crimea had not been attacked or aircraft equipment destroyed.
leading the Crimea region Alexei Aksyonov according to AP, around 250 tourists have changed accommodation after several buildings were damaged.
Russia said on Wednesday that hotels and beaches along the coast were not damaged. The coast of the Crimean peninsula is popular with Russian tourists.
The Crimean peninsula has great strategic and symbolic importance for both countries.
President Zelenskyi dedicated his late-night speech on Tuesday to Crimea, but did not directly comment on the explosions.
– Crimea is Ukrainian, and we will never give it up, Zelenskyi said in his video speech.