The Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced on Monday that an explosion in Dzhankoy, in the northern part of the Crimean peninsula, resulted in the destruction of cruise missiles intended for surface vessels of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea fleet.

An official stationed by Moscow on the peninsula – annexed by Russia in 2014 – said the blast was caused by UAVs laden with explosives and shrapnel that hit civilian facilities. According to him, one citizen was injured.

A statement from the Ukrainian military intelligence service said that “Kalibr-KN (type) cruise missiles transported by rail” were destroyed.

According to the same source, the specific surface-launched missiles have an effective range of up to 2,500 kilometers against land targets and 375 kilometers when fired against sea targets.

According to Igor Ivin, head of the local government in Dzhankoy, a 33-year-old man was injured by shrapnel and taken to a hospital. He is expected to survive.

Russian state news agency TASS reported that a house, a school and a grocery store caught fire and part of the power grid was damaged.

Alek Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russian-appointed self-government of Crimea, claimed that the attack was against “civilian targets”: a UAV, he said, was shot down “over a technical school in Dzhankoy and fell in an area between an educational site and a student residence”. . “There are no military installations nearby. The others (UAVs) were shot down in residential areas,” he added.

A short distance from Dzhankoy is a Russian military airport. According to Ukrainian officials, the city and the area around it have turned into the largest Russian military base on the peninsula.

Ukraine has repeatedly launched attacks in Crimea. In August, missiles destroyed aircraft in the southwestern part of the peninsula. Kiev later claimed responsibility.

He did not explicitly take responsibility for yesterday’s attack, however, he hinted that it was a Ukrainian operation.

In order to continue the process of “demilitarization of Russia” and preparation for the liberation of Crimea from Russian occupation, according to the Ukrainian military intelligence service.

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, which most of the international community does not recognize. The Ukrainian government insists it will “free” her.