Explosions in Sevastopol and Yevpatoriya as Ukraine strikes Russian military targets in Crimea
On Thursday, January 4th, at around 16:00, several explosions were heard in Crimea, including around ten in Sevastopol and a few in Yevpatoriya, reported the news outlet Krym. Realii onTelegram.
Initially, the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, stated that the attack was carried out by Ukrainian military forces and "several aerial targets" were destroyed. He urged residents not to film the work of the Russian air defense and to stay in safe places.
A little later, he mentioned the that the Russian air defense was shooting down "a large number of various aerial targets." Razvozhaev also reported falling debris in several parts of Sevastopol and "one injured person."
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have "thwarted an attempt" by Ukraine to carry out a "terrorist attack using guided aviation missiles." According tot the Ministry, the Russian air defense allegedly destroyed ten of Ukrainian missiles over Crimea.
At the same time, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported that at least one of the missiles hit a military unit in Yuharina Balka in Sevastopol.
According to Crimean Wind, one of Ukrainian missile hit an air defense military unit near the village of Uyutne, adjacent to Yevpatoriya. Several ambulances were sent there.
Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Lieutenant General Nikolay Oleshchuk indirectly confirmed the attack on Crimea publishing a screenshot of a message about the attack near Uyutne.
"On 2 January, the Ministry of Lies of the Russian Federation reported a strike of the Russian missiles on "a bunker with the Deputy Supreme Commander Valery Zaluzhny and nine other generals of the Armed Forces of Ukraine". Greetings to the occupiers in Crimea! I am anticipating an equally epic report from enemy propaganda coming from Sevastopol and Yevpatoriya on 4 January," Oleshchuk wrote, thanking the pilots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces involved in planning and carrying out the operation.
In response, the Strategic Communications Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed that the Ukrainian military had successfully struck the command post of the Russian forces near Sevastopol around 3:00 PM on January 4. Later, a series of powerful explosions were heard in the temporarily occupied city of Sevastopol as well. Two plumes of smoke rose above the city. The strike might have targeted Belbek airport."