An explosion of munitions caused a fire at a military air base in Russian-annexed Crimea Tuesday but no casualties or damage to stationed warplanes, Russia's Defense Ministry said.
Videos posted on social networks showed sunbathers fleeing a nearby beach as huge clouds of smoke from the explosions rose over the horizon.
The Saki base allowed Russian warplanes stationed there to strike areas in Ukraine's south at short notice. Ukraine and Russia accused each other in recent days of shelling the nuclear plant, which is the largest one in Europe, and increasing the risks of a nuclear accident. The Kremlin claimed Monday that Ukraine's military was attacking the plant and urged Western powers to force Kyiv to stop the activity.
A Ukrainian counteroffensive and Russian defensive actions in occupied areas have increasingly drawn firepower to southern Ukraine. “This is a war of artillery and drones,” Baton told reporters, as he observed smoke rising after an attack on a Russian position a few kilometers away on a monitor with the feed sent from the vehicle.After failing to capture Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, early in the war, the Russian military focused its strength on trying to seize all of the country's eastern Donbas region.