Ukraine reported the destruction of "several" Russian cruise missiles while being transferred by rail to Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea.
According to Ukraine's military agency, several Kalibr cruise missiles were destroyed by an explosion, which did not specify who was responsible for the outbreak or how the shipment of deadly missiles was damaged.
"An explosion in the city of Dzhankoi, located in the north of temporarily seized Crimea, destroyed Russian Kalibr-KN cruise missiles as they were being transported by rail," according to social media posts from Ukraine's intelligence service. According to the agency, the missiles were intended for submarine launch by the Russian Black Sea force.
Ihor Ivin, the Russian-installed leader of the Dzhankoi administration, was quoted as saying that drones had attacked the city and that a 33-year-old male had been injured by shrapnel from a downed drone.
He was hospitalized with a prognosis of survival. A house, school, and grocery store caught fire in the attack, and the electrical infrastructure was also damaged. Ivin was cited as saying on local Krym-24 television by Russia's state-run news agency TASS.
Sergei Aksenov, the governor of Crimea who Russia selected, stated on social media that anti-aircraft guns were fired near Dzhankoi, where Ukraine's intelligence agency claimed cruise missiles were destroyed. Aksenov reported that falling debris injured one person and damaged a residence and a business.
Officials from Russia have not confirmed that missiles were destroyed during the operation. Before the explosion in Dzhankoi, Ukrainian media reported hearing the sound of drone engines.
Several Kalibr cruise missiles have been employed in Russia's strikes on Ukraine. In the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia in July 2022, a submarine-launched Kalibr cruise missile killed 23 civilians, including three children. Russia asserted that the rocket was meant at a meeting between Ukrainian air force officers and Western armament dealers.
Even though rumours of attacks against Russian military posts, assassinations, and other targets in Crimea have been prevalent throughout the war, Ukraine has rarely, if ever, openly claimed responsibility for such attacks, though it welcomes their results.
The alleged destruction of the cruise missile shipment in Crimea followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's unexpected Saturday visit to the peninsula to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the region's annexation from Ukraine.
Putin made the trip the day after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him on suspicion of committing war crimes by illegally expelling hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Netherlands-based court also issued an arrest order for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights. Russia asserts that the expulsion of Ukrainian children is a humanitarian effort.
Moscow instantly rejected the ICC warrants as outrageous, while Ukraine hailed them as a significant breakthrough in pursuing justice for the victims of Russian war crimes.
As a precursor to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014, Putin grabbed Crimea in 2014 and illegally annexed the peninsula, a move criticized by numerous nations.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has pledged to reclaim all Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia, including Crimea.
