According to the US Department of Defense, the explosions at a military base on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia were not triggered by weapons supplied by the United States. The United States has “provided nothing to Ukraine that would enable it to attack Crimea,” a senior Pentagon official told reporters on Friday. His ministry has no information on whether the explosions were rocket attacks or an act of sabotage.
Several explosions occurred on Tuesday at the Russian air force base in Saki on the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. It is estimated that eight aircraft and a significant amount of ammunition were destroyed. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the incident. The Saki base is central to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
According to the Pentagon official, the blasts had “quite a significant impact” on Russian air force operations. According to British military intelligence, Saki was mainly used as a base for the aircraft of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The fleet’s aerial combat ability is now “significantly weakened”. (AFP)
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. The nuclear power plant should not be drawn into military conflicts, Borrell wrote on Twitter on Friday evening. He supports calls for demilitarization of the area and urges experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit. “Russia must immediately return control to Ukraine as the rightful owner,” Borrell wrote.
The international community is concerned because Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian troops since March, has been shot at several times in the past few days. Ukraine and Russia each see responsibility as being on the other side. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the USA have also called for the power plant and its surroundings to be demilitarized. Moscow strictly rejects this, but wants to allow a visit by IAEA experts. (dpa)
At least 361 children have been killed during Russia’s war of aggression, according to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office. According to unconfirmed data, at least 706 children were physically injured.
According to local information, the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia was hit by five Russian rockets on Friday evening. In the process, infrastructure buildings were destroyed, regional governor Olexander Staruch said on Telegram. A fire had broken out. At least one woman was injured and more information about victims is expected.
The regional capital of Zaporizhia, Ukraine’s sixth largest city, has remained in Ukrainian hands since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. However, the southern part of the administrative area is occupied by Russian troops. There, near the town of Enerhodar, is the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, for which Russians and Ukrainians blame each other for shelling.
According to the authorities, the city of Kramatorsk in the Donbass was also shelled on Friday evening. At least two civilians were killed and 13 injured. The Ukrainian air defense system allegedly intercepted a Russian missile over the southern region of Mykolaiv. (dpa)
