Nine Russian warplanes were destroyed at an air base in Crimea last week and an ammunition depot on the peninsula was blown up on Tuesday. Ukrainian authorities have stopped short of publicly claiming responsibility, preferring to keep people guessing, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referred to Ukrainian attacks behind enemy lines after the latest explosions, which Russia blamed on “sabotage”. Russia seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and has used it as a staging ground for attacks on the country in the war that began on February 24. Ukrainian authorities have vowed to retake Crimea and other occupied territories. The blasts represent the latest setback for Moscow, which launched its invasion with hopes of capturing Kyiv in a blitzkrieg but soon bogged down in the face of fierce resistance. As the war nears its six-month end, the two sides are engaged in a fierce war of attrition, fighting village by village, largely in the east of the country. The attacks in Crimea may mark the opening of a new front that would represent a major escalation of the war and could further stretch Russia’s resources. “Russian commanders are likely to be increasingly concerned by the apparent deterioration of security across Crimea, which acts as a rear base area for the occupation,” Britain’s Ministry of Defense tweeted. As a result of the airfield attacks, Russia is moving dozens of warplanes and helicopters deeper into Crimea and to Russian bases elsewhere, Ukrainian military intelligence said. Tuesday’s explosions erupted at a munitions site near the town of Jankoi, forcing the evacuation of about 3,000 people. Ammunition continued to explode on Wednesday and authorities fought the fires with a helicopter, Crimean regional leader Sergei Aksionov said. As he said, investigations to identify the perpetrators are ongoing. Business newspaper Kommersant also reported explosions on Tuesday at a Crimean base in Gvardeyskoye. There was no confirmation from the Russians. The British intelligence report said that Gvardeyskoye and Dzhankoi are home to two of the most important Russian military airfields in Crimea. Just a week ago, explosions rocked the Russian Saki Air Base in Crimea and destroyed planes on the ground. Moscow suggested the blasts were accidental, perhaps caused by a careless smoker, but Ukrainian authorities scoffed at that explanation and hinted at their involvement. Last month, a small explosive device carried by an improvised drone detonated in a courtyard at the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, injuring six people and canceling ceremonies there honoring the Russian navy. In other developments on Wednesday, two civilians were reported killed and seven wounded in Russian shelling of several towns and villages in the eastern Donetsk region, which is the focus of the attack on the Kremlin. In the south, Russian warplanes fired cruise missiles into the Odesa region overnight, injuring four people, regional administration spokesman Oleh Bratchuk said. In Mykolaiv, also in the south, two Russian rockets damaged a university building, but no one was injured. Russian forces also shelled Kharkiv and the surrounding area in the northeast overnight, damaging residential buildings and civilian infrastructure but causing no casualties, authorities said. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv for a meeting Thursday with Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Guterres would raise the issue of food and grain shipments, the security of the nuclear plant and the prison explosion that killed dozens of captured Ukrainian fighters, and “do everything he can to bring the temperature down substantially.” as much as possible”. The last time the UN chief came to Ukraine, in April, Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv as he visited the capital.
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