MOSCOW: A fire broke out on Wednesday at a military training field in annexed Crimea, leading authorities to order the evacuation of more than 2,000 civilians, according to the Russian-installed governor. The cause of the blaze was not immediately specified, but reports suggested detonations were heard in the area, and footage depicted columns of black smoke rising into the sky.
The incident follows recent tensions between Ukraine and Russia, where waterborne drones were used by Ukraine to target the Kerch bridge, a crucial military supply artery connecting mainland Russia to annexed Crimea.
Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of Crimea, announced the “temporary evacuation” of residents from four localities near the military field in the Kirovsky district, affecting over 2,000 people. As a result of the fire, a section of the Tavrida highway, which crosses the peninsula, had to be closed.
Intensity of Crimea Military Base Fire
Footage shared on the Telegram account of the state-backed Izvestia newspaper purported to show the fire, with thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the area. According to two Russian online media outlets, detonations were audible in the vicinity for more than two hours.
Nikolay Lukashenko from Crimea’s transport ministry confirmed on Telegram that bus traffic on interregional routes had been temporarily redirected due to the situation. The Tavrida highway connects the eastern Crimean port of Kerch to Sevastopol on the peninsula’s Black Sea coast, as reported by Russia’s TASS news agency.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that remains unrecognized by the international community. Kyiv has repeatedly expressed its intent to reclaim the peninsula.
