OBTAINED BY REUTERS
Ukrainian saboteurs and special forces are said to be causing chaos against Russian targets behind enemy lines—with their most spectacular operation to date going off with a bang Tuesday.
After a series of explosions ripped through a Russian air base on the occupied Crimean peninsula, the Russian defense ministry said that detonating aerial ordnance at the site was to blame and that no one had been hurt. Questions about the Kremlin’s version of efforts were immediately raised based on videos of the blasts shared on social media, which analysts said looked much more like the result of a coordinated attack than an isolated accident. New revelations have reduced the Russian story about what happened to a smoldering wreck.
Speaking to The Washington Post on Wednesday, an anonymous Ukrainian government official said the explosions at the base were in fact caused by an operation carried out by Ukrainian special forces. Exactly how the attack was executed has not been divulged, though a U.S. official has insisted that an American weapon was not used in the attack. The explosions were so far behind the frontline that the area had been presumed safe enough by Russian authorities to allow tourists to visit nearby resorts; footage on social media showed beachgoers running for cover as the plumes of smoke and flame erupted from the base.