Image source, Reuters

An explosion at a military base in Crimea’s Dzhankoy District was an act of sabotage, the Russian Defence Ministry says.

"In the morning of 16 August following an act of sabotage a military storage facility was damaged in the vicinity of the residential area Dzhankoy," the Defence Ministry said, as cited by Interfax news agency.

The ministry adds "a number of civilian facilities, including electricity transmission lines, railway and a number of private houses" were damaged but no one was severely injured.

Russia earlier attributed the blast to "the detonation of ammunition" but did not give its cause.

Russian-installed head of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said that two civilians had been injured in the explosion.

Hugo Bachega
Reporting from Kyiv

Today's explosion looks almost identical to last week's blasts that partially destroyed a Russian air base – also in Crimea.

Is Ukraine behind them?

Russian officials denied that last Tuesday’s blasts were triggered by an attack, and blamed detonations at an ammunition depot.

Ukraine hasn't officially confirmed or denied involvement, although unnamed officials, quoted in media reports, said the explosions had, indeed, been the work of the country’s military.

Ukraine, at least publicly, doesn’t have the weapons needed to strike so deep into Russian-controlled territory, away from the frontlines.

Any confirmation of involvement would suggest Ukraine has acquired a capacity not yet known.

For the Russians, it would mean a significant security blow. Russia has built a massive military presence in Crimea since it annexed the peninsula, in 2014, and has used it to support attacks on Ukraine.

Ukraine has vowed to retake the peninsula. Last week, President Zelensky said Crimea was Ukrainian and would be returned to Ukrainians.

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

A bit more now about the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on world leaders to impose more sanctions on Russia to force its troops to withdraw from the site.

The power plant was seized by Russia in March, but has kept on its Ukrainian employees.

Both sides have blamed one another for shelling it in recent days - raising fears of a serious incident.

In his nightly address, Zelensky says a catastrophe at the station would threaten the entire region.

"If through Russia's actions a catastrophe occurs the consequences could hit those who for the moment are silent," he says.

"If now the world does not show strength and decisiveness to defend one nuclear power station, it will mean that the world has lost."

The station is located in the city of Enerhodar, on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River (Dnipro in Ukrainian) in southern Ukraine.

The UN says it's ready to support an inspection of the plant by its nuclear watchdog.

Ukraine has said for weeks it is waging a counter-offensive in the south of the country to recapture the southern province of Kherson, which Russia seized at the beginning of the war.

Strategically located west of the Dnipro river, the city of Kherson was the first to fall to Moscow's forces.

On Saturday, Ukraine said it had it hit a bridge used by Russian forces on the dam at Nova Kakhovka - which it had attacked before - and that is was now impassable.

It comes just weeks after the key Antonivsky Bridge was put out of action by Ukrainian forces.

Image source, .

Elsewhere in the south, Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations of who's to blame for shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.

Russia also seized the facility in south-eastern Ukraine early on in the war, and it has been the site of shelling in recent weeks.

Kyiv accuses Russian forces of turning the facility into a military base, using it as a shield to launch attacks against Ukrainian targets. Russia rejects this, and says its troops are protecting the plant.But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accuses Russia of nuclear blackmail.

There have been growing calls for international monitors to be allowed into the site, although there are no signs of an agreement over the visit at the moment.

Here is another video of explosions in Crimea.

This clip is filmed from a car window, as explosions are heard in the distance.

It's reported to be from an ammunition depot near the village of Maiske, in the Dzhankoi region.

Sergei Aksyonov, head of Crimea's Russian-appointed administration, says residents were evacuated from the village.

The Russian defence ministry confirmed the explosions, saying fire erupted at a "site for temporary storage of ammunition of one of the military units".

As we mentioned earlier, there were a series of explosions in Crimea last week, in what appeared to be a Ukrainian attack on the Russian-occupied peninsula.

Satellite images seem to show major damage and a number of destroyed Russian warplanes at the Saky airbase in the aftermath of the blasts.

The base's runways appear intact, but at least eight aircraft seem damaged or destroyed with several craters visible.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility - but this new evidence suggests the possibility of a targeted attack.

Read more of our analysis of the images.

Image source, EPA

Vladimir Putin has accused Western countries of trying to extend a "Nato-like" system into the Asia-Pacific region, Reuters reports.

In remarks made at the Moscow Conference on International Security, taking place in the Russian capital this week, Putin said that the United States was trying to "drag out" the conflict in Ukraine, adding that the recent visit by US Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan was a “thoroughly planned provocation”.

The Russian leader blamed Nato's expansion in Europe for his invasion of Ukraine, which began in February.

In a Victory Day speech in May he accused Nato of launching an active military build-up on territories adjacent to Russia.

As we've been reporting, Russian media is reporting explosions and a fire at a military base in Crimea.

This video from the region shows a transformer substation on fire after a blast.

The explosions today follow a series of blasts last Tuesday, on the Saky military base in the west of Russian-ruled Crimea.

Satellite images later showed significant damage at the Russian-operated airfield there, with at least eight Russian warplanes destroyed.

The UK Ministry of Defence said the blasts had "significantly degraded" the aviation capability of the Russian navy's Black Sea fleet.

Russia's ministry of defence blamed the explosions on the "detonation of several rounds of ammunition".

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the blasts, but satellite images suggested a targeted attack.

The airfield is situated on the south-western coast of the Ukrainian peninsula which has been occupied by Russia since 2014.

This morning, senior Ukrainian officials have been hinting at Kyiv's involvement in the latest blasts.

Image source, .

Will Vernon
Reporting from Moscow

Image source, Reuters

Russia's defence ministry statement released earlier, as we've just been reporting, says a fire started at an ammunition storage site at a military base, leading to "detonations".

Moscow claimed there had been no serious injuries and the cause of the fire was still being established.

Around 2,000 people were being evacuated from the local area, said Russian-installed officials, and train services would be disrupted as the explosions continued. Videos posted on social media from the area show fireballs and plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

It all sounds very familiar. Exactly one week ago, an almost identical series of events unfolded, when blasts hit a Russian military airfield in Saky, on Crimea’s west coast. Local media in Crimea subsequently reported huge queues of cars on roads leading out of Crimea, as Russian tourists rushed to leave the area.

Such incidents are embarrassing for the Kremlin. Moscow has sought to portray Crimea as a fortress following its takeover of the peninsula from Ukraine eight years ago, and the area was one of the key staging posts for Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. Crimea is also the home base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, whose flagship vessel, the Moskva, was sunk by Ukrainian forces in April 2022 - another major embarrassment for President Putin.

Russia’s ministry of defence has released a statement regarding today's blasts in Crimea, saying "a fire" occurred in the area.

Here's their full statement (translated by us):

The explosions in Dzhankoi are a "reminder" that Russian-occupied Crimea is "about warehouses explosions and high risk of death for invaders and thieves", Ukraine’s presidential adviser says.

In a tweet, Mykhailo Podolyak says, external: "Morning near Dzhankoi began with explosions.

It comes after Russia reported explosions and a fire at an ammunition storage at a military base in Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

Image source, Reuters

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage. Russian media is reporting explosions and a fire at a military base in Crimea.

Moscow annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and these latest blasts come days after an apparent Ukrainian attack at another base destroyed Russian warplanes.

Videos circulating on social media this morning show large blasts in the northern part of the peninsula.

Russia’s defence ministry said there were no serious casualties in an explosion at an ammunition depot in the village of Maiske.

Emergency services were responding to the incident and evacuating local people, Russian media said.

Stay with us for the latest updates.