Major fire in Crimea

Explosions shake Russian military base

Explosions lit up the night in Crimea.(Bild: OSINT)

Explosions rocked the Crimean peninsula on Wednesday night. According to unconfirmed reports, the Russian military airbase in Dzhankoy was attacked with rockets and valuable war equipment was destroyed. Videos on the internet show detonations that brightly illuminate the darkness.

According to reports from Russian Telegram accounts, a fire broke out at the airfield in Dzhankoy as a result of the explosions, which is confirmed by satellite images. Detonations could still be heard five hours after the suspected missile attack. The road to Jankoy had been closed by the authorities.

The 39th Helicopter Regiment of the Russian armed forces has been stationed at the airbase since the start of the invasion in 2022. Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula ten years ago.

Videos of explosions are circulating on the internet:

Attack with long-range missiles?
The X-account "Ukraine Battle Map", which has set itself the task of mapping the war in Ukraine in real time, speaks of a Ukrainian attack with long-range ATACMS missiles. Ukraine has apparently had these US-made weapons since last fall. The Telegram account "Rybar", run by the influential Russian military blogger Mikhail Svinchuk, spoke of an attack with twelve ATACMS missiles, which were most likely launched from the Kherson region.

Location of Dzhankoy in the Crimea(Bild: OSINT)

Citing NASA satellite images, "Ukraine Battle Map" reports that at least seven helicopters were destroyed. In addition, a Russian S-400 air defense system was apparently hit, as video footage suggested. If this information is correct, it would be one of Ukraine's most successful attacks on the Crimean peninsula since the start of the war. The attack has not been officially confirmed by either Ukraine or Russia.

Target of attack as early as 2022
In the fight against the Russian invaders, Ukraine has repeatedly attacked the occupied peninsula with drones and missiles. The Dzhankoy military airfield was already targeted in August 2022, when a Russian ammunition depot exploded.