The Ukrainian Air Force has claimed that nine Russian warplanes have been destroyed in deadly explosions at an airbase in Crimea.
According to the American news agency Associated Press, there are speculations that the Russian planes were destroyed in the attack of Ukraine.
Russia has denied that any aircraft were damaged or attacked in Tuesday's blasts. However, Ukrainian officials have scoffed at Russia's explanation that the negligence of an official smoking led to the munitions fire and destruction at the Saki air base.
According to military analyst Olya Zhdanov, "Officially, Kiev has kept quiet about this, but unofficially, the military has admitted that it was a Ukrainian attack."
If Ukrainian forces were responsible for the blasts, it would be the first known major attack on a Russian military base in Crimea, which the Kremlin seized in 2014.
Crimea holds great strategic and symbolic importance for both countries. The Kremlin's demand that Ukraine recognize the peninsula as part of Russia is one of its key conditions for an end to the fighting, while Ukraine has vowed to expel Russians from all occupied territories.
After the explosions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "Russia's war against Ukraine and all free Europe began with Crimea and it will necessarily end with the independence of Crimea."
One person was killed and 14 injured in the explosions at the Russian air base. The base, on a Black Sea peninsula, is at least 200 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian position and is beyond the range of missiles supplied by the West for use in high-mobility artillery rocket system launchers.
Ukraine has repeatedly called for long-range missiles for the launchers, which can hit targets up to 300 kilometers away. The explosions have fueled speculation that Kiev has acquired the missiles.
In this regard, Olya Zhdanov said that the Ukrainian forces could have targeted the air base with Neptune or Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
