There has been a major fire at a fuel depot in Crimea, annexed by Russia. The Russian occupation authorities speak of a Ukrainian drone attack, Kiev of “God’s punishment”.
On the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea, an explosion occurred in a fuel depot overnight, triggering a major fire. According to Russian information, the fire was assigned to the highest danger level. At times, a huge mushroom cloud rose over the port city of Sevastopol.
The last flames are said to have been extinguished in the afternoon. According to Russian governor Mikhail Rasvozhayev, dozens of fire engines, a railway fire engine and resources from the Black Sea Fleet were on site.
According to him, the fire was triggered by a drone equipped with explosives. A second drone was shot down on approach. The Russian army reported the shooting down of two more drones in the afternoon.
“This is God’s punishment”
The Ukrainian military intelligence service spoke of ten destroyed oil tanks with a total capacity of around 40,000 tons. The depot serves to supply the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The Ukrainian government did not accept responsibility for the fire. “This is God’s punishment especially for the killed citizens in Uman, five of whom are children,” said secret service spokesman Andriy Yussow. He was referring to Russian rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities in the night from Thursday to Friday.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
The Black Sea Fleet in sight
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has repeatedly succeeded in spectacular actions against the Black Sea Fleet. In April last year, the flagship “Moscow” was sunk. Military installations such as airports were fired upon, as were ships.
According to Western military experts, secure land access to the annexed Crimea is one of the Russian war goals.