According to the authorities, a large fuel depot caught fire as a result of a drone attack on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia. It was a fire of alert level four – “the most serious of all possible,” wrote Governor Mikhail Rasvoschajew on his Telegram channel.
The flames in the port city of Sevastopol meanwhile covered an area of about 1000 square meters. There were no dead or injured. Civilian objects were also not damaged. However, according to the Ukrainian military intelligence service, ten oil tanks were destroyed.
The explosion in the city of Sevastopol, where the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is located, happened early Saturday morning. According to Rasvozhayev, it was triggered by a drone attack. There was conflicting information about the number of drones used. Russian military bloggers wrote of up to ten flying objects, later there was talk of up to six Mugin-5 Pro drones. These drones can transport between 20 and 25 kilograms of explosives for a flight duration of up to seven hours.
Apparently attack on other objects
Simultaneously with the attack on Sevastopol, objects in the Crimea were also attacked, claimed Moscow’s governor of the peninsula, Sergei Axyonov. However, two drones were intercepted by the air defense.
According to Rasvozhayev, the remains of two drones were found near the fuel reservoir itself. But only one reached the tank farm, the other was shot down as it approached.
The flames were only put out in the afternoon. Because of the severity of the fire, dozens of fire engines and even a railway fire engine were deployed. There are different reports on the extent of the damage. The fire was localized in four cisterns, Raswoschajew told Russian media.
“This is God’s punishment”
The Ukrainian military intelligence service, in turn, spoke of ten destroyed oil tanks. “Their total volume is about 40,000 tons,” said authority spokesman Andriy Jussow. “This is God’s punishment especially for the killed citizens in Uman, among whom are five children,” he said, referring to a Russian missile attack the night before. A Russian missile hit a residential building in Uman, killing 23 people.
Specifically, Kiev has not accepted responsibility for the attack in Sevastopol. At the same time, Yussow emphasized that these explosions continued. The officer advised the Crimean population to stay away from military objects. According to him, the fuel reservoir served the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, has released images of ships in the fleet firing Kalibr missiles at targets in Ukraine.
Preparation for counter-offensive?
In view of the Ukrainian counter-offensive that had been expected for weeks, some observers saw the air strike as a preparation for this offensive. “The enemy is looking for gaps in our anti-aircraft defense and uses drones to do this,” Director of the Anti-Aircraft Museum Yuri Knutov told Russian media. Such attacks could increase during the May holidays to damage logistics and Russian supply lines, he warned. The Ukrainians used a similar tactic to prepare their offensive last summer. At that time, the Russian army was significantly weakened by the shelling of important fuel depots and ammunition depots in the hinterland by Himar rockets.
In response, Knutov called for massive attacks against the Ukrainian cities of Mykolaiv and Ochakiv, where the Ukrainian fleet is stationed. “Kiev must recognize that our retaliatory strikes are far more painful than their attacks,” said the military expert. In view of the Russian rocket terror against Ukrainian cities that has been going on since autumn, it is unlikely that Kiev will be deterred from further attacks.
A good 14 months after the start of the aggressive war against Ukraine, Russia has not achieved its strategic goals. However, including Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, Moscow still holds around 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory. Kiev now wants to win back more areas with an expected major offensive.
