Ukraine has publicly acknowledged for the first time its role in the Crimea explosions. In an article for Ukrinform, Valery Zaluzhny, the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, and Mykhailo Zabrodsky, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Defense Committee, stated that Ukrainian troops conducted a series of precise missile strikes against Crimean airbases, including the Saki facility.
The authors argue that the conflict’s remoteness prevented Russia from fully grasping the scale of Ukrainian losses and setbacks. They contend Kyiv should present those losses to Moscow in a manner that is sharp, tangible, and unmistakable.
They pointed to the ongoing suitability of Ukraine’s approach this year as evidenced by the Armed Forces’ ability to shift combat to the temporarily occupied Crimean territory themselves. The focus, they said, was a sequence of successful strikes on the enemy’s Crimean air bases, notably at Saki airport.
Both Zaluzhny and Zabrodsky, a high-ranking military officer and veteran commander, also suggested that the Ukraine conflict would not be resolved within the year 2022 and could endure beyond it. They emphasized that substantial military-technical aid from partner nations would continue to be a critical factor in sustaining Ukrainian resistance through 2023.
Explosions at Saki airport, near the resort village of Novofedorovka, occurred in the early afternoon on August 9, with local time readings around 15:00–15:20.
Until recently, Kyiv had not officially claimed involvement. The New York Times, citing an anonymous Ukrainian military official, later reported that Ukrainian forces were indeed linked to the incident. The source noted that air operations from the Crimean base regularly targeted Ukrainian forces operating in southern directions and stressed that only Ukrainian-made munitions were used, without specifying weapon types.
CNN, The Washington Post, and the Pentagon also reported Ukrainian involvement in attacks on Russian bases and arms depots. They also noted that a subsequent correction to a Ministry of Defense statement clarified the particulars of the situation, stating that while the exact cause remained unclear, the strikes had inflicted significant damage on Russian aircraft and ammunition.
According to the revised briefing, American officials could not definitively pinpoint the cause of the explosions but acknowledged the resulting damage as substantial to Russia’s air capabilities and munitions stockpiles.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed a large number of aviation munitions had detonated at the storage site and asserted that no fire impact occurred at the airport, with RBC corroborating that aviation equipment remained largely undamaged.
Interfax and RIA Novosti cited preliminary hypotheses that the incident involved a breach of security protocols at the base. Crimea’s leadership, including Sergei Aksyonov, announced that authorities opened a criminal case and estimated losses at roughly 200 million rubles. He also noted damage to more than 60 high-rise buildings, 20 commercial properties, and numerous private residences, with assurances of compensation to victims. The most visible impact was shattered glass from the blast wave.
In the immediate aftermath, at least 14 local residents sought medical advice for injuries, most of which were minor, while one person reportedly died. Saki hosts a carrier-based aviation training complex, and the 2014-arrived Su-24M aviation regiment has been stationed there since that year, underscoring the base’s strategic significance in regional air operations.
— Attribution: multiple sources including United Nations and major international outlets tracked the evolving reporting on the Crimea strikes, noting the broader implications for regional security and military alignments. Individual reports from The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post, and the Pentagon provide context for ongoing debates about responsibility and attribution in cross-border conflict zones. —