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Plumes of smoke rise after the ammunition dump explosion over Crimea
Photo: Sergei Malgavko / ITAR-TASS / IMAGO
It is the third military incident in Crimea in just a few weeks - a serious explosion occurred in an ammunition depot on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia.
Now the Ministry of Defense in Moscow has spoken of an "act of sabotage".
A military camp was hit during the attack in the morning, the ministry said, according to the Interfax agency in Moscow.
A number of civilian objects were damaged, including power lines, a power plant and railway tracks, as well as some residential buildings, it said.
There are no serious injuries.
Everything will be done to eliminate the consequences.
It was initially unclear who was responsible for the explosion.
Crimea's head of administration, Sergey Aksyonov, reported an explosion in a village in the Dzhankoy region in northern Crimea in the morning.
Two people were injured in the process.
A large fire and a cloud of smoke were seen on videos on social networks.
According to the authorities, more than 3,000 people were brought to safety by the early afternoon.
There had previously been talk of around 2,000 evacuees.
Clouds of smoke on the beach
The explosion has far-reaching consequences: Train traffic has been restricted.
Trains from Moscow should only go as far as Vladislavowka.
The annexed Crimea is a popular summer holiday destination for many Russians.
This summer, however, the Ukraine war will be visible on the beach: only on Tuesday a week ago there were heavy explosions at a Russian military base.
The plumes of smoke were visible to many vacationers.
According to the authorities, one person was killed and 14 others injured in the explosions at the base in Saki near the resort town of Nowofyodorovka.
Experts believe Ukraine struck the base, destroying several fighter jets.
However, Kyiv has not officially confirmed the attack.
Russia, on the other hand, claims the explosion occurred because of fire safety violations.
According to Moscow, a Ukrainian drone struck the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the port city of Sevastopol on July 31.
There were injuries then too.
"Operation Demilitarization"
Ukraine dismissed the Russian account as "invented" - although some actors cheered the latest explosion.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, called the explosion on Telegram an "operation 'demilitarization'" and praised it as a "masterstroke of the Ukrainian armed forces".
These would continue their work until all Ukrainian areas were "completely liberated."
Adviser to the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak told Telegram that “in a normal country” Crimea represents sea, mountains, recreation and tourism.
"But Russian-occupied Crimea means exploding ammunition depots and a high risk of death for the invaders and thieves."
mrc/dpa