One Person Killed In Explosion Rocked Russian Air Base, Ukraine Irresponsible

Saky Russian Naval Air Base. (Wikimedia Commons/Igor Bubin)

JAKARTA - One person died in an explosion that rocked a Russian air base near a seaside resort on Tuesday's annexed Crimean peninsula, due to stray ammunition.

Witnesses said they had heard at least 12 explosions at around 3:20 p.m. local time, from the Saky air base near Novofedorivka on the west coast of the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 and used in February as one of the launch pads for its invasion.

Crimea, a holiday destination for many Russians, has so far been spared the bombardment and artillery fighting that other areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have suffered.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry insisted that a "fire of several aviation ammunition depots" had caused the explosion, and initially said no one was hurt. It said there was no attack and no flight equipment was damaged.

Asked if Ukraine was responsible for the blast, Presidential Aide Mykhailo Podolyak told the online television channel Dozhd: "Of course not. What should we do with this?"

Moscow could accuse Kyiv of crossing a red line if Ukraine admits it has invaded territory it considers its own.

Podolyak, who is an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the blast could be due to Russian incompetence or an attack by partisans.

"People living under occupation understand that the occupation will end soon," he said.

Russian news agencies quoted an unnamed ministry source as saying "only violation of fire safety requirements is considered the main reason for the explosion of several ammunition depots at Saky airfield."

"There are no signs, evidence or, even less, facts (to indicate) a deliberate impact on the ammunition depot," the source was quoted as saying.

Separately, Crimea's Ministry of Health said one civilian was killed and eight others injured.

Meanwhile, President Zelensky did not specifically mention the explosion in the evening video address, but said it was true that people were focused on Crimea.

"The Black Sea region cannot be safe while Crimea is occupied," he said, repeating Kyiv's position that Crimea should be returned to Ukraine.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry earlier issued a statement in a highly suggestive tone reminiscent of its response to the unexplained explosion on Russian territory, saying it "again draws attention to fire safety rules".

Russia's Crimea Governor Sergei Aksyonov said a five-kilometre (three-mile) exclusion zone had been established around the air base, which is close to the seaside resorts of Novofedorivka and Saky.

Novofedorivka and Saky are about 50 km (30 miles) north of Sevastopol, home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which Moscow leased from Kyiv for decades before seizing and annexing the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, in a move not recognized by some. big other countries.