Conflicting reports from Russian and Ukrainian officials emerged on Tuesday regarding what seemed to be a bold attack on Russian cruise missiles being transported by train in the occupied Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, the Associated Press reported.

According to a Ukrainian military spokesperson, the explosion that took place late Monday and reportedly destroyed several Kalibr cruise missiles near the town of Dzhankoi in northern Crimea was orchestrated by Kyiv as a signal to Russia to vacate the Black Sea peninsula, which it illegally seized from Ukraine in 2014.

The spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern operational command, Natalia Humeniuk, highlighted Dzhankoi’s significance as a railway hub and suggested that Russian forces in Crimea should depart by rail.

Although a statement from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency on Monday vaguely alluded to multiple missiles being destroyed en route to a submarine launch, without explicitly stating Ukraine’s culpability or the weapon used, the agency hinted that the blast advanced “the process of Russia’s demilitarization and prepares the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for de-occupation.”

Written by staff