Explosions near Dzhankoy in occupied Crimea: Russian Defense Ministry claims "detonation at site of temporary munitions storage"

The Russian Defense Ministry, the "head" of Crimea Serhiy Aksyonov, local emergency services and the head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov confirmed the explosions.

According to the employees of the so-called emergency services of the occupied Crimea, the explosion at the ammunition warehouse damaged the railway in the Dzhankoy district.

The route of trains heading to the occupied Crimea from Russia will be changed. Aksyonov says that passenger trains will be stopped at Vladislavivka station (a little more than 100 km from Dzhankoy).

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry, according to Ria Novosti, reported that on the morning of August 16, in the area of ​​the village of Maiske in the occupied Crimea, "an explosion occurred on the territory of the bulldozed site for the temporary storage of ammunition in the military unit." As a result of the ignition, the stored ammunition was detonated.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirms that there are no serious injuries, the fire is being extinguished, and the causes are being investigated.

The so-called head of Crimea Serhiy Aksyonov said about two wounded civilians.

"The detonation of ammunition in the north of Crimea continues," he noted

Earlier, Maiske's "administration" had already announced the detonation of ammunition. Residents of the settlement were evacuated.

The Department of Strategic Communications of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces noted that the explosions in the occupied Crimea thundered at around 6:00.

"Smoking again in an unspecified place on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea. According to preliminary information, there was an explosion in the village of Travneve in the Dzhankoy district of the temporarily occupied Crimea at around 6:15 and now a Russian ammunition depot is detonating. A fire at a substation is also reported. The evacuation of the population has begun due to the detonation of ammunition  after the explosion," the report says

Local Telegram channels and mass media shared the news.

According to eyewitnesses, they heard loud bangs. Some say that the explosions occurred at an electrical substation in Dzhankoy district. A column of thick black smoke rose above the object.

At the same time, People's Deputy from European Solidarity party Oleksiy Goncharenko stated that the explosions occurred in the Dzhankoy district. According to him, the Russian ammunition depot is on fire.

According to Goncharenko, there is a military air base in Dzhankoy, where the Russian 39th helicopter regiment is located.

Journalist Andriy Tsaplienko also wrote about the explosions.

"There was an explosion in Crimea, not far from Dzhankoy. Something powerful. Windows were broken in houses at a distance of a kilometer. Windows were broken in houses at a distance of a kilometer," he said.

The head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, also confirms the explosions in Azovske.

"It is reported from the temporarily occupied Crimea: an accurate hit on the Russian military unit in the village of Qalay (now Azovske) of the Dzhankoy district. Explosions are heard for some time... UPD:07.41. They hit the ammunition depot, the sounds of the explosions spread far across the steppe…," he wrote

Serhiy Aksyonov, the "head" of Crimea, left for the village of Maiske near Dzhankoy, and will find out the circumstances.

There is no official information yet. The village of Maiske is located at a distance of 1 kilometer from the village of Azovske. The distance from the frontline to occupied Azovske is 200-250 km.