The explosions may have been caused by a Ukrainian attack, but nothing has been officially confirmed – neither Russian nor Ukrainian.
Russia says they were caused by an accident on the ground and won’t even confirm that any planes have been damaged. But satellite images of the airbase reportedly show that at least seven planes have been destroyed and probably more damaged.
If the explosions were caused by a Ukrainian attack, it is the first major one against a Russian military target in Crimea since the peninsula was annexed by Russia in 2014.
A satellite image is said to show destroyed aircraft at the Russian airbase Saky in Crimea
The Saky airbase has been used as a base for airstrikes in Ukraine and also serves as the airfield of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. One person is said to have died in Tuesday’s explosions and around 14 were injured.
Footage on social media shows vacationing Russians rushing out of their sunbeds on a nearby beach as a huge plume of smoke rises into the sky. Other clips show the Kerch Bridge – built by Russia to connect the annexed Ukrainian peninsula to its mainland – filling up with travelers who appear to want to get home.
Crimea has enormous symbolic and strategic importance, both for Russia and Ukraine. The Kremlin has – as one of the key points to end the fighting – demanded that Ukraine recognize the peninsula as Russian. At the same time, Ukraine has promised to drive the Russians out of there as well as from all other occupied territories.