Ukraine Officials Troll Russia As New Explosions Rock The Annexed Crimea Region

Explosions at an armaments facility and an aviation base presented a scene of conundrum for the Russian-backed authorities in the annexed region of Crimea. Russian authorities, who typically try to conceal such setbacks, were parking hasty answers.

The explosions Tuesday damaged a Russian weapons warehouse and an electricity substation, both of which are 125 miles (200 km) from the battlefront with Ukrainian forces. A large cloud of smoke lingered in the sky close to a Russian military railroad hub, The Guardian reported.

As Russian authorities initially dismissed the explosions as a "fire" in their arms depot, Ukraine used it as an opportunity to poke fun at the enemy.

Yuri Ignat, the spokesperson of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that "the enemy does not know how to use fire safety equipment," at a briefing Tuesday, referring to the incident in Dzhankoi, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

The Russian Defense Military shifted the narrative from a fire on the premises to alleging "sabotage."

"Damage was caused to a number of civilian facilities, among them power lines, a power station, a railway track, as well as a number of residential buildings," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. "The necessary measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of sabotage."

Around 2,000 people were evacuated from a nearby village in Crimea. The Russian military had suffered a setback in the territory they believed they had complete control over, and the Ukrainian officials openly mocked the aftermath of what they obscurely referred to as "demilitarisation."

An anonymous Ukrainian source claimed that a senior Ukrainian military unit was behind the explosions in Dzhankoi, operating stealthily behind enemy lines, The New York Times reported.

While they have not openly taken credit for the pandemonium that spread through the seized peninsula, Ukrainian officials did not deny any involvement either.

On social media, senior Ukrainian government officials displayed their delight.

The alleged attack, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky's adviser Mykailo Podolyak, was an illustration of "demilitarisation in action."

The Ukrainian government made an ominous appeal to those who were still in the territory under Russian authority. "We will definitely liberate Crimea, using all possible and unprohibited mechanisms to fight not only for the territory but also for you. I'm sure you've been waiting for this throughout all the years of occupation. For now, be careful, hide in [properly] equipped places or in your basements. Prepare the necessary resources," Tamila Tasheva, the permanent representative of the president of Ukraine in Crimea, wrote on Facebook.