Explosion reported near Russian Black Sea Fleet shipyard in Sevastopol
According to independent publication Agenstvo, residents of the city of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea reported hearing an explosion in the city’s Troitska Bay district on the morning of September 23.
According to local residents, there was a strike near Henerala Zhydylova Street, which is located near a shipyard and the 13th Ship Repair Plant, where ships that are part of the Russian Navy undergo repairs. Agenstvo’s sources noted that it’s not clear whether the missile hit the plant’s structure.
Head of annexed Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said that air defense systems shot down a missile and its debris fell near the pier in the Sukharnaya Bay (located opposite Troitskaya Bay on the other side of the larger Sevastopol Bay).
The Telegram channel Crimean Wind posted photos which appear to show smoke in the Sukharnaya Bay district.
On the morning of September 23, Razvozhayev twice reported that there was danger of a possible missile strike in Sevastopol. Local residents complained that they couldn’t get into the shelters that were constructed about a year ago and said that the shelters were not ready. Razvozhayev responded by saying that “it is impossible to foresee everything” and that “there is also a human factor,” promising to address the issue.
This comes one day after Ukraine launched a missile strike on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol, which is reported to have left at least nine people dead and 16 injured.