The Russian Ministry of Defense today reported a series of explosions at a military airfield in the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, due to an accident.
"On the territory of the Saki airfield, in the vicinity of the town of Novofiódorofka, the detonation of several munitions took place in a protected storage area," Defense said in a statement.
The military entity has indicated that "according to the report from the scene, no attack took place against the ammunition warehouse."
"As a result of the explosion, no one was injured (at the aerodrome). The air equipment was not damaged," added the Ministry of Defense.
In this way, Russia speaks of an "accident", although Ukrainian social networks have been filled with speculation that it was an attack perpetrated by Ukraine.
The pro-Russian regional leader, Sergei Aksionov, has attended the scene of the events, who has indicated in his Telegram account that "all the necessary measures were reinforced to protect the safety of the population and the infrastructure."
"In the first instance, measures were taken to cordon off the perimeter in a 5-kilometer zone (...) to avoid harm to civilians," he indicated.
However, according to the Minister of Public Health of the Republic of Crimea, Konstantin Skorupski, "five wounded were transferred to the regional hospital, one of them a minor."
Subsequently, Public Health has raised the number of injured to 6, while Aksiónov has reported one deceased as a result of the incident.
The social networks that have echoed what happened have published multiple photos and videos of the explosions, and have reported caravans of tourists trying to hastily leave the area.
