JAKARTA - Explosions rocked a Russian ammunition depot in Crimea, with Moscow accusing saboteurs of being behind the incident, saying armed groups loyal to Ukraine had damaged military logistics and supply lines in the region.
The incident followed a series of explosions last week at a Russian-operated air base in Crimea, which Ukrainian officials said were part of some sort of special operation, but Moscow said at the time were accidents.
Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement published by the state news agency on Tuesday that no one was seriously injured in the latest explosion, which it said also damaged power lines, power substations, railway infrastructure and some housing in northern Crimea. .
Footage on Russian state TV showed an electric substation on fire near the Crimean city of Dzhankoi and a series of large explosions in the sky which authorities said were caused by ammunition detonating at a military base.
It was not immediately clear how the saboteurs set off the explosion, although Russian state media speculated that they may have used small drones to bomb ammunition depots and other facilities.
There was no direct claim of responsibility from Ukraine, which was fighting to push back Russian forces, in a battle that lasted nearly six months, starting with the February 24 invasion of Moscow.
"(The morning) near Dzhankoi started with an explosion," Ukraine's presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
"A reminder: Crimea (as) normal territory is about the Black Sea, mountains, recreation and tourism. But, Crimea occupied by Russia is about warehouse explosions and high risk of death for invaders and thieves. Demilitarization in action."
Russia cites the demilitarization of Ukraine as one of its main goals in Ukraine, something it says is necessary to ensure its own security, in the face of what it considers an uncontrolled expansion by the Western NATO military alliance.
Meanwhile, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on another possible act of sabotage in Crimea, citing witnesses who said plumes of smoke could be seen over the Russian military air base on the peninsula.
Sergei Aksyonov, Russia's top official in Crimea, said about 2,000 local people had been evacuated from a village near an ammunition dump outside the 5 km (3.1 miles) limit.
He said two people were injured in the ammunition explosion and there was disruption to rail traffic between the peninsula and southern Ukraine and Russia.
Russia is known to have used Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, to reinforce its troops fighting in other parts of Ukraine.
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