ON THE BLITZ
Huge explosion & massive inferno as ‘Ukrainian drone strike’ hits occupied Crimea blowing up fuel depot in blow to Putin
A SUSPECTED Ukrainian drone strike has blown up a major fuel depot with huge explosion and massive inferno in annexed Crimea.
Staggering footage shows the sky turning black over the Russian-occupied city of Sevastopol as the smoke rises from the enormous blaze.
7
7
7
7
The mushroom-cloud-like smoke plume could be seen for miles around after two huge explosions ripped through Cossack Bay.
The blasts came at 4:20am and 4:21am local time - and up to seven fuel tanks are believed to have gone up in flames.
It appears to be the latest attempt by Ukraine to strike at Russia’s naval firepower base in the annexed peninsula.
Ukraine wants to retake the Crimean Peninsula which was seized by Vladimir Putin nine years ago.
READ MORE ON RUSSIA
And military experts had previously suggested the long-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive could be focused on the region.
It comes after a suspected "kamikaze drone" was found crashed near Moscow - as Ukraine's ambitions to hit back at the Russians appears to becoming more bold.
Some Russian sources said it could have been a sea drone attack, but others said it was an aerial strike.
One fuming Russian war channel warned: "To exclude such drone arrivals, it is necessary either to move the borders of Ukraine to Poland, or for Ukraine to cease to exist altogether."
Most read in The Sun
The Russian-appointed Sevastopol authorities rushed 18 firefighting teams to the inferno.
The flames shot into the sky and an area of almost 11,000 square feet was ablaze, according to the occupying officials.
“There were two explosions,” a resident told Readovka.
“One muffled somewhere far away and the second directly from Cossack Bay.
“Of course, after that the fire started immediately. Everyone was asleep but the explosions woke them up.
“The fire brigade arrived after about 15 minutes.”
Putin was informed about the strike which represents yet another failure of his air defences.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
A resident told Izvestia: “The explosion was strong. I don’t know how our windows remained in place.”
Witnesses reported seeing drones flying from the direction of Cape Fiolent, south of the strike.
The major incident came as Russia is bracing itself for more attacks with Ukraine preparing for a counteroffensive against Putin’s aggression.
In recent weeks sea drones have penetrated Sevastopol but have been thwarted by Russian defences.
Putin’s governor of the city Mikhail Razvozhaev rushed to the scene.
“I am working at the scene of an emergency - I am heading the operational headquarters,” he said.
“The situation is under the control of our firefighters and all operational services,” he claimed
“There are 18 fire brigades at the site, 60 firefighters are valiantly fighting the fire.
“The arrival of a fire train is expected.”
The blaze - which continued hours after the drone strike - was ranked as the most difficult category to extinguish.
“Since the volume of fuel is large, it will take time to localise the fire,” said the governor. Nothing threatens civilian objects.”
Russia invaded Ukraine last February - a conflict which has devolved into a grinding, brutal war.
It is believed some 188,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Putin's botched invasion.
And millions of Ukrainian civilians have endured untold misery as the Russians stole their homes and left cities devastated.
Despite the bloodshed, Kyiv is still standing strong against the Russians with backing from the West.
Putin foolishly believed his forces would be welcomed into Ukraine as liberators.
But instead, the initial attack ended in a disaster which saw his forces devastated and thrown back to Russia.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Kyiv continues to call for more Western support to help them defeat Putin.
The world is now awaiting to see if Ukraine will mount its long expected counter offensive, with much of the fiercest fighting currently centred around the city of Bakhmut.
7
7
7
Topics