[MSN] The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday said sabotage was behind an explosion at a military depot in the Dzhankoy region of Crimea, the RIA news agency reported.The ministry said damage was done to civilian facilities — including power lines, power plants, railway tracks and residential buildings — but said no one was hurt in the incident on Tuesday morning.
"The necessary measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of sabotage," it said.
The ministry had earlier said that fire was the cause of the blast, at around 6:15 a.m. local time (0315 GMT/UTC) in the village of Mayskoye, causing ammunition to detonate.
Images posted on social media showed large fireballs erupting at the site and clouds of black smoke rising.
Plumes of black smoke were also seen later on Tuesday at a Russian military airbase near the settlement of Gvardeyskoye in occupied Crimea, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported.
Earlier this month, major damage at a Crimean military airfield drew international attention. Russia attributed that explosion to ammunition detonating. Some experts argued that an attack was more likely, judging by available satellite imagery of the damage. Ukraine did not claim responsibility but did seek to cast doubt on Russia's version of events.
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