A fire broke out “on the territory of the banked site for temporary storage of ammunition” in the village of Maiske in the Dzhankoi district of Crimea, the Russian Defence Ministry stated. Video footage of a major fire has appeared on social media.
“The fire triggered the detonation of stored ammunition. Reports from the scene suggest that there have been no serious injuries,” the ministry stated.
Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov has reported that two people were injured in the fire. “At the moment, the detonation continues,” he said. He added that a three-mile zone has been cordoned off around the site of the incident and people are being evacuated. A total of 2,000 people have been evacuated so far, he said.
The Russian Ministry of Energy reports that a fire at a transformer station in northern Crimea has been contained.
Aksyonov added that the management of the Crimea Railway had decided to halt movement of passenger trains in the area of Vladyslavivka due to the damage of railways. Buses will be available for passengers that will take them to the nearest bus stations.
Local emergency services told TASS that a railway in the Dzhankoi district of Crimea had been damaged due to the ammo depot explosion.
On 9 August, explosions were heard in the area of the Novofedorivka village in Crimea. The village is home to Russia’s Saki Air Base. The Russian Defence Ministry maintains that “several aviation munitions detonated at an enclosed storage site” on the territory of the air base and that there was no “fire impact” on the airfield. No aviation equipment was damaged in the attack, the ministry stated.
For its part, Ukraine’s General Staff reported that nine aircraft had been destroyed at the Russian airbase. Ukraine did not officially claim responsibility for the fire.
