Satellite image of the Saki air base in Crimea after the shelling. / Reuters

Russian military authorities continue to insist that a series of explosions that destroyed Russia’s Saki military airfield in Crimea on Tuesday was caused by an accidental detonation of munitions. However, the massive destruction shown in Planet Labs satellite imagery confirms that the explosions at the Russian airbase were not a simple accident and suggest that the Ukrainian military may have obtained long-range weapons.

The photographs show the remains of the fuselages of at least eight fighter jets and three craters, indicating that there was no initial detonation at one point where the fire spread. Kyiv has not yet confirmed or denied the information that the attack on the Saki airfield, in the city of Novofedorovka, was the work of its Armed Forces,

According to the adviser to the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak, “we do not confirm or deny anything. There are many hypotheses of what could have happened … there were several epicenters of explosions at the same time, ”he told Reuters. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine already indicated yesterday that the Saki base was used by Russia for air raids on Ukraine. Ukrainian media reported that Tuesday’s explosions destroyed 17 Su-27, Su-30M and Su-24 fighters, one transport Il-20RT, and six Mi-8 helicopters. Four ammunition depots were also reportedly destroyed and several buildings damaged.

Officially, there was one dead and fifteen wounded, but military sources in Kyiv believe that the number of victims, especially among military personnel, should be much higher, given the huge area of ​​\u200b\u200bdestruction. The nearest beach was abandoned by bathers after they heard deflagration and saw huge plumes of smoke forming. Many vacationers rushed to escape from the peninsula through the Kerch bridge, creating huge traffic jams.

If this is indeed an attack, then this will be the first major attack on the Crimea since the beginning of the current war on February 24th. But the fact that the nearest point from which Ukrainian troops could allegedly fire is 200 kilometers away, and the apparent absence of weapons capable of firing at such a distance, casts doubt on the nature of what actually happened in Saki.

Since early June, however, Ukrainian troops have been attacking Russian supply lines with HIMARS and M270 rocket launchers, changing the dynamics of the war. Russia is forced to defend its bases not only in the frontline areas, but also in the deeper rear.

Another element indicating that the destruction of the airfield did not happen by accident is the fact that the Crimean authorities on Wednesday declared a state of emergency throughout the peninsula. The pro-Russian leader of the local government, Sergei Aksyonov, assured that 252 people needed to be evacuated from Novofedorovka.

According to Aksyonov, the explosions damaged more than 60 residential buildings, 20 commercial facilities, and burned all the cars parked in the parking lot of the base. Ukrainian army spokesman Yuriy Ignat told UNIAN on Wednesday that what happened in Novofedorovka “will lead to a partial reduction in the offensive capabilities of the Russian Black Sea and Caspian fleets.”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Russia “turned Crimea into one of the most dangerous places in Europe.” In his opinion, since the annexation of the peninsula by Russia in March 2014, Moscow “brought with it massive repression, environmental problems, economic despair and war. Perhaps someday historians will determine how many people died as a result of Russia’s use of Crimea for terror (…) as long as it remains occupied by Russia, there will be no security in the Black Sea region, ”he stressed.

Source: El Correo

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