POPPING OFF

Massive Explosions Erupt in Crimea as Russian Ammunition Depot Hit

Ukraine has not directly taken credit for the blasts but offered a rather cheeky response.

Explosions rocked an ammo depot in Russian-occupied Crimea on Tuesday as apparent attacks on Kremlin forces continue in territory they previously regarded as safe. Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-backed leader of the peninsula, said two people were wounded and about 2,000 people evacuated as a result of the explosions in the village of Mayskoye, which Russian officials blamed on a fire. Kremlin-controlled outlet RIA said a fire at a transformer substation also broke out around 12 miles away from the ammunition depot. The blasts come after several Russian warplanes were destroyed in an attack on a Crimean airbase last week, with Moscow claiming the fireballs seen at the base were the result of an accident. Ukraine has not directly taken credit for any of the explosions, but in the wake of the latest blasts Tuesday, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andrii Yermak, wrote on Telegram: “Operation ‘demilitarization’ in the precise style of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue until the complete de-occupation of Ukrainian territories. Our warriors are the best sponsors of agood mood. Crimea is Ukraine.” Aside from the blasts, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called for new sanctions on Russia’s nuclear sector after explosions near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear plant. Russian authorities say Ukrainians are responsible for the dangerous shelling.