Explosions were seen in the Russian military airfield in Belbek, located on the southern part of the Crimean peninsula on Saturday afternoon, with the cause being attributed to a plane catching fire on the runway.
According to the Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, a partial detonation of ammunition occurred during the incident at the airfield in Sevastopol, where a plane rolled out of the runway and caught fire.
"According to the situation on Belbek. The plane went off the runway during landing, and a partial explosion of ammunition occurred. The pilot managed to evacuate," the governor wrote on his Telegram channel.
"According to the situation on Belbek. The plane went off the runway during landing, and a partial explosion of ammunition occurred. The pilot managed to evacuate."
Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev
The fire, according to him, was quickly extinguished, the airfield infrastructure was not damaged.
Videos and images showing a massive black cloud of smoke billowing into the sky as a backdrop to a Crimean beach spread quickly on social media.
BREAKING: Aircraft catches fire during landing at Belbek airfield in Crimea. Explosions reported. pic.twitter.com/kY1qaaI4dR
— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) October 1, 2022
Ukrainian forces or local guerillas did not take responsibility for the incident, and currently, there is nothing that suggests Ukrainian involvement.
Nine Russian planes destroyed
In August, a series of explosions occurred at the Saki military airfield near the village of Novofedorovka just 40 km north of the Belbek airfield.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation claimed that several aviation munitions were detonated at the Saki airfield, the cause of which was a violation of fire safety regulations, according to TASS.
Aviation equipment, according to the Ministry of Defense, was not damaged. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not take responsibility for the incident but reported that nine Russian aircraft were destroyed.
At the same time, several Ukrainian sources hinted that Ukrainian forces, including partisans or special forces, could be behind the attack on the airfield.
The Institute for the Study of War called the airfield explosions an "attack" in a daily report on August 10, but notes that it is not yet able to assess whether such damage was caused by special forces, guerrillas operating on the spot, or rockets launched from afar.
The Russian forces at the airfield, the institute believes, already know what happened, but do not understand how and from where the Ukrainian military attacked.
Satellite imagery comparing the state of the airfield before and after the mysterious explosions confirmed that the airfield and the aircraft on it suffered significant damage.
