Several explosions at the Russian military base in Saki destroy not only fighter jets, but also ammunition. Although Russia speaks of an accident, all indications point to an attack by Ukraine. According to the Pentagon, this was not carried out with US weapons.
According to the US Department of Defense, the explosions at the Saki military base were not triggered by US weapons. The United States has “provided nothing to Ukraine that would allow it to attack Crimea,” a senior Pentagon official told reporters. His ministry has no information on whether the explosions were rocket attacks or an act of sabotage.
Several explosions occurred at the Russian air force base on Tuesday. It is estimated that eight aircraft and a significant amount of ammunition were destroyed. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the incident. The Saki base is located on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia and is of central importance for the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
The US has supplied Ukraine with large arms supplies since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression. However, there are no systems that would allow attacks from Ukrainian territory far into Russian-occupied territory. According to the Pentagon official, the blasts had “quite a significant impact” on Russian air force operations.
According to British military intelligence, Saki was mainly used as a base for the aircraft of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The fleet’s aerial combat ability is now “significantly weakened”. Russia had described the explosions as an “accident”. According to security experts, satellite photos and videos recorded on site indicate an attack.