Russian Defence Ministry comments on the explosions in Crimea: No deliberate strike

YEVHEN KIZILOV — TUESDAY, 9 AUGUST 2022, 17:04

The Russian Defence Ministry claims that no one fired at the Saky airfield in Crimea, but that, for some reason, there was a detonation of ammunition.

Source: RIA Novosti on Telegram

Quote: "At about 15:20 on the territory of the Saky airfield near the village of Novofedorivka, several pieces of aircraft ammunition detonated in an enclosed storage area.

Measures are being taken to extinguish the fire and find out the causes of the explosion. According to the report from the site, there was no deliberate strike on the enclosed ammunition storage area at the airfield."

Details: The Russian Defence Ministry insists that no one was injured as a result of the explosion and that aviation equipment at the airfield was not damaged.

Well-known Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan also commented on the situation, writing on Telegram that the explosions at a military airfield in Crimea could be sabotage or even mismanagement

Quote from Simonyan: "On the spot, they believe that it was not a strike, but sabotage, or even someone’s stupidity."

More details: A little later, the propagandist added that, "in fact," several munitions allegedly detonated in the storage area, that no one was hurt and nothing was destroyed, "there were no strikes" and that in general it is possible to go to the beach safely.

Even later, Russian state agency TASS reported with reference to "a source in the Russian military department" that the main reason for the explosion of ammunition at the Saky airfield was a "violation of fire safety requirements," and that there are no signs of an "intentional impact on the ammunition for the purpose of detonation."

Background:

• After noon on 9 August, explosions occurred at a military airfield in Novofedorivka in the Saki district of Crimea. Local residents told Ukrainska Pravda that "the explosions continue to this day, probably hitting warehouses."
• On social networks, people write that there have already been more than ten explosions. 20 km from Novofedorivka, "windows tremble and car alarms go off."

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