On the night of July 19, a fire broke out at a military base in the Kirovske region of annexed Crimea. At 5:00 a.m. local time, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind posted a video of the fire. Explosions can be heard in the video. At 6:00 a.m., Russian troops closed off the road to the base, reported the channel.
The Russian-appointed head of annexed Crimea Sergey Aksyonov reported that residents from the villages of Pryvitne, Aivazovske, Abrykosivka, and Krynychky were being evacuated. The four villages are all located next to the military base. According to Aksyonov, the authorities are planning to evacuate more than 2,000 people. He also reported that the Tavrida Highway would be blocked in the area of the fire and that an emergency response center would be set up.
The local authorities didn’t say what caused the fire. Aksyonov said the investigation authorities will be responsible for determining the cause. According to the Telegram channel Crimean Wind, there were three “arrivals” at the depot, meaning either missile or done strikes. The channel further reported that six drones attacked the military base. The channel Dva Majors stated that the depot may have been attacked by a Ukrainian Hrim-2 short-range ballistic missile system. Pro-war Russian Telegram channels Rybar and Grey Zone suggested that the strike may have been carried out by Storm Shadow missiles.
Ukrainian and Russian media reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were involved in the attack, referencing a statement allegedly made by Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov. However, Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne that “Budanov’s statement is fake.”