Heavy Explosion Hits Russian Ammunition Depot In Crimea

An ammunition depot in Russian-annexed Crimea exploded on Tuesday, injuring two people and disrupting railway traffic between the peninsula and the rest of southern Ukraine and Russia.

The region's top Russian-backed official, Sergei Aksyonov, said that he did not want to talk about what may have caused the explosions, something he said was being looked into.

He added that around 2,000 local people had been evacuated from the nearest village beyond a 5-kilometre perimeter.

Russia's RIA news agency said seven passenger trains had been delayed and that rail traffic on part of the line in northern Crimea had been suspended.

Aksyonov also added that bus services would be provided to allow people to continue their journey.

Russia has used Crimea to reinforce its troops fighting in the invasion of Ukraine.

Also, the Russian Defense Ministry said a military warehouse near the town of Dzhankoi in northern Crimea had been damaged by sabotage.

State-owned news agency TASS cited the Defense Ministry as saying that civilian infrastructure, including an electricity supply station, had been damaged as a result of the sabotage.

Ukraine has not officially confirmed or denied responsibility for the explosions in Crimea.