The Russian Defense Ministry previously reported that ammunition detonated at the airfield The explosions at the Saki airfield in Crimea involved the Ukrainian military, said the head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny and the first deputy chairman of the Defense Committee of the Rada Mikhail Zabrodsky.
The incident occurred on August 9, when the Russian Defense Ministry reported that there was a detonation of ammunition at the airfield without "fire impact".
For the first time, Ukraine has admitted its involvement in the explosions in Crimea. In a material for the Ukrinform publication, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, and the first deputy chairman of the Defense Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Mikhail Zabrodsky, wrote that Ukrainian troops had carried out "a series of successful missile strikes on Crimean air bases," including the Saki military airfield.
The authors believe that the remoteness of the conflict does not allow Russia to clearly feel the losses and defeats. Therefore, in their opinion, Kiev should make them "sharp, natural and quite tangible" for Russians.
"A convincing example of the correctness of such an approach this year is the successful efforts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to physically transfer hostilities to the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. We are talking about a series of successful missile strikes on the enemy's Crimean air bases, first of all, on the Saki airfield," Zaluzhny and Zabrodsky said.
"In 2023, the material basis of the Ukrainian resistance should remain significant in terms of military and technical assistance from partner countries," the authors of the material stressed.
Explosions at the Saki airfield near the resort village of Novofedorovka thundered on the afternoon of August 9 - about 15:00-15:20 Moscow time.
Earlier, Ukraine did not recognize its responsibility for the incident. However, The New York Times, referring to an unnamed representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, wrote that the Ukrainian military were involved in the explosions. The source stressed that from the airbase on the Crimean Peninsula, "planes regularly flew out for strikes" against the Ukrainian troops in the southern direction. He did not name the type of weapon used to strike, stressing only that "a device exclusively of Ukrainian production was used."
CNN, The Washington Post and The Pentagon also reported on Ukraine's involvement in the explosions at Russian military bases and a warehouse with weapons. However, the latter changed it shortly after the publication of the statement, noting that "an inaccurate description of the comments of a high-ranking representative of the Ministry of Defense about the explosions at the Russian airbase" was corrected.
The amended version states that "the United States does not know what caused the explosions, but it is clear that they caused significant damage to Russian aircraft and ammunition."
The Russian Defense Ministry said that several aviation ammunition detonated at the storage site.
Sources of Interfax and RIA Novosti called the main version of what happened - a violation of safety regulations.
The head of Crimea Sergey Aksenov reported that a criminal case had been opened. According to his preliminary estimates, the damage amounted to 200 million rubles. He also said that more than 60 high-rise buildings, 20 commercial facilities and dozens of private properties were affected. The regional authorities promised to pay compensation to all of them. The main damage is glass blown out by the blast wave.
As a result of the incident, at least 14 citizens turned to the doctors - in most cases, the injuries were mild. One person died.
On the territory of Saki there is a training complex for the training of flight personnel of carrier-based aviation. Since 2014, the Su-24M aviation regiment has been located there.
Milana Helikova
