New images show Russia’s Saky airbase is badly damaged after explosions in Crimea

Satellite images appear to show major damage and a number of destroyed Russian warplanes at a Crimea airbase following explosions there this week.

New images have revealed one of Russia’s major airbases in Crimea has suffered extensive damage following a series of explosions this week.

New pictures have revealed one of Russia’s major airbases in Crimea has suffered extensive damage following a series of explosions this week.

The satellite images, released by US-based Planet Labs, revealed a number of destroyed Russian warplanes surrounded by debris.

The Saky base, located on the western side of the previously-annexed peninsula, is a crucial point for Vladimir Putin’s forces in the west as the military continues its assault on Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Russia‘s defence ministry, via the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, said the explosion had been caused by a detonation of aviation ammunition, and that there had been no casualties.

But the before-and-after aerial photos paint a different picture, and suggest the military base came under a deliberate and precise attack.

While the base‘s runways appear somewhat undamaged, at least eight aircraft can be seen lying destroyed.

Three witnesses told Reuters they heard loud explosions and saw black smoke rising from the direction of a the base at Novofedorivka.

Saky airbase before the explosions. Picture: Planet Labs PBC

Saky airbase after the explosions. Picture: Planet Labs PBC

Kyiv has not offered an official statement, but a senior Ukrainian official confirmed to Sky News that the Ukrainian Special Forces carried out the operation on the Saky base, marking the first major attack on a Russian military site on the Crimean Peninsula since 2014.

Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, suggested the explosion was caused by a poorly-lit cigarette.

“I think that Russian military guys in this airbase ruined their very simply known rule: don‘t smoke in dangerous places,” he said. “That’s it.”

However, the UK Defence Secretary has suggested the fact there were two separate explosions was evidence an attack had carried out, rather than smoker’s break gone wrong.

“It‘s absolutely legitimate for Ukraine to take lethal force, if necessary … in order to regain not only its territory, but also to push back its invader,” Ben Wallace said, reiterating Ukraine’s right to target the Russian-held peninsula.

Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov agreed, suggesting the original narrative of the attack being carried out by lone wolves was misleading.

“Official Kyiv has kept mum about it, but unofficially the military acknowledges that it was a Ukrainian strike,” he said.

The Saky base, located on the western side of the previously-annexed peninsula, is a crucial point for Vladimir Putin’s forces in the west as the military continues its assault on Ukraine.

Moscow took control of Crimea in 2014 and has been using it as a base for its current invasion of Ukraine.

Crimea borders the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson — now controlled by Moscow. The southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia — partially occupied by the Russian army — is also nearby.

It came as Ukraine accused Russia of carrying out rocket strikes that killed 14 civilians in areas near a nuclear power plant, as the G7 warned that Russian control of the facility “endangers the region”.

Overnight strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine killed 13 people and injured 11, with five reported to be in a serious condition, regional governor Valentin Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.

Most of the casualties were in the town of Marganets, just across the Dnipro River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is Europe’s biggest.

The G7 has condemned Russia’s occupation of the plant and called on Moscow to immediately hand back full control of the plant.

Ukrainian staff operating the plant must be able to work “without threats or pressure” and Russia’s control of the plant “endangers the region”, the G7 foreign ministers said in a statement.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Thursday to address the crisis at the nuclear plant, diplomatic sources said.

The UN nuclear safety watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement that its Director General Rafael Grossi would brief the Security Council meeting “about the nuclear safety and security situation” at the plant as well as his “efforts to agree and lead an IAEA expert mission to the site as soon as possible”.