Pro-Russian authorities in Crimea on Saturday accused Ukraine of using drones to blow up a munitions depot, prompting the evacuation of the surrounding population and the suspension of rail services on this annexed peninsula.
This new attack comes days after an attack on the Kerch Bridge, the only structure of its kind that connects Crimea to Russia and is used in particular to transport equipment to Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian front.
AFP
On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch Moscow ally who acted as a mediator between the Kremlin and Yevgeny Prigoyine during Russia’s failed Wagner uprising nearly a month ago.
Kyiv, which launched a counter-offensive in early June to retake territories captured from Moscow, reiterates its intention to regain Crimea in particular, which Russia unilaterally annexed to its territory in 2014.
In a video conference at the Aspen Security Forum on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ruled that the Kerch Bridge, which he says was built in violation of international law, should be “neutralized.”
Moscow-elected Crimea governor Sergey Aksionov told him on Saturday an “explosion at an ammunition depot after an attack by enemy drones in Krasnogvardeisky district” inland, in the center of the Black Sea peninsula.
“It was decided to evacuate people within a five-kilometer radius. “In order to minimize the risks, it was also decided to stop rail services,” he added, without giving details of the location affected.
According to the authorities, two trains traveling from Moscow to Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, and another in the opposite direction were stopped.
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The attack also led to a brief disruption to road traffic on the Crimean Bridge, pro-Russian authorities said on Telegram.
This peninsula has witnessed a multiplication of Ukrainian attacks in recent weeks, which have rarely been alleged.
On the night of July 16-17, a naval drone attack damaged the Crimean Bridge, which had been hit back in October 2022.
Several Russians arriving by car were killed and there was significant damage to the road section of the structure.
Vladimir Putin had promised an immediate “response” from his army and also called for “safety improvements” to the work.
In addition, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine and is a regular target of attacks, on Saturday accused Kiev of bombing the village of Jouravlevka with cluster munitions the day before.
“In the Belgorod region, 21 artillery and three cluster munition fires from a multiple rocket launcher (by the Ukrainian army) were fired at the village of Jouralevka,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
For its part, the Russian army announced that a journalist from the Russian news agency Ria Novosti, Rostislav Jouravlev, was killed in a Ukrainian bombing raid in the Zaporizhia region of southern Ukraine on the same day.
“Units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched an artillery attack on a group of journalists,” injuring “four journalists more or less seriously,” she accused.
Aside from still-intense fighting, the week was mostly marked by a Black Sea-related verbal escalation after Russia pulled out of an international deal on Ukrainian grain exports.
Moscow and Kiev have taken turns warning ships in the Black Sea that they could be targeted if they enter enemy ports.
On Saturday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a phone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the “unblocking” of the Black Sea grain corridor.
“We have (…) identified with Mr. Stoltenberg the priority and future steps required for the unblocking and sustainable use of the Black Sea Grain Corridor,” the Ukrainian President said on Twitter.