The Ukrainian drone attack led to a detonation at an ammunition depot in the Krasnogvardeisky district of Crimea on Saturday, July 22, according to Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of the region. The alarming incident has caused an immediate evacuation of residents within a five-kilometer radius and resulted in the suspension of rail traffic in the Moscow-annexed area.

Sergei Aksyonov claimed that Ukraine targeted the infrastructure in the central area of Crimea with this drone attack. This incident comes close on the heels of a previous attack on Russia’s bridge that connects Crimea to the Russian mainland, resulting in two fatalities.

No specific details were provided about the exact location of the latest hit, except that it was in the inland area of the Black Sea peninsula. The train traffic on the peninsula has also been interrupted, affecting two Moscow-bound trains from Simferopol, Crimea’s main city, and another train from the opposite direction.

Emergency services are currently managing the potential fallout of the incident, as Sergei Aksyonov appeals to Crimeans to maintain their calm. In response to the incident, traffic was briefly halted on the only bridge linking annexed Crimea to Russia but resumed shortly after a 10-minute pause.

Although Sergei Aksyonov refrained from providing any detailed information on the intended target of the attack and possible casualties, Crimea has been a recurrent point of conflict in Russia’s ongoing 17-month offensive against Ukraine. The intensity of these attacks has surged in recent weeks.

On the previous day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared the bridge linking Russia to Crimea as a military target, stating that it “brings war, not peace”. Concurrently, reports emerged from Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov about the Ukrainian army’s use of cluster munitions on the Russian border village of Zhuravlevka, further escalating the tensions in the region.

  Belgorod, Black Sea, Crimea, Moscow, Russia, Sergei Aksyonov, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vyacheslav Gladkov