Fire erupts at Belbek airfield in Russian-occupied Crimea after night attack

During the attack on the Belbek airfield in temporarily occupied Crimea, the fuel depot was potentially hit, resulting in a fire.

The Telegram channel Crimean Wind reports this.

The "Atesh" rebel group has reported a targeted attack on the primary storage facility for rockets and artillery weapons (military unit 80189) at the Belbek airfield, resulting in a prolonged explosion.

This warehouse allegedly stored most of the missiles for the Su-27, Su-30, and MiG-31 aircraft, which the Russians used to attack Ukraine.

Also, according to the partisans, significant damage to the airfield's infrastructure was recorded as a result of the secondary detonation.

There is no confirmation of this information yet.

The pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Wind reports, citing satellite imagery, that a fire broke out at the airfield during the night.

Furthermore, thanks to the photographs taken a few hours after the shelling of Belbek, the location of the fire could be determined.

"The accuracy of determining the location can range from tens to hundreds of meters, so the points of fire outbreaks are quite conditional," Crimean Wind writes.

According to Mykhail Razvozhaev, the so-called governor of Sevastopol, the Russian military "repelled the attack of Ukraine's armed forces." He also stated that no damage was inflicted on civilian infrastructure.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed that Ukraine purportedly launched American ATACMS missiles at Crimea. The agency believes that its air defense forces successfully intercepted five of these missiles above the occupied peninsula.

Several Crimean Telegram channels with reference to residents reported the sounds of explosions in:

• Simferopol,
• Yevpatoria,
• Dzhankoy,
• Hvardiyske.

Russian military airfields are also located there.

For reference:

On Thursday night, May 16, the Russians declared another assault on the Crimean peninsula. There were reports about the air defense operations in Sevastopol. This is the second attack on Belbek within a few days. The previous day, the media claimed to have successfully targeted Russian aircraft there, including the MiG-31K.

According to Razvozhaev, the Russian air defense is reported to be in operation in Sevastopol. Additionally, all emergency services have been placed on alert.

"Air defense is working in Sevastopol. Several air targets have already been shot down. All services are on alert," the collaborator said.

At the same time, residents reported hearing a siren in Sevastopol, followed by explosions. Residents of the village of Hvardiyske, where the military airfield is located, also reported explosions.

Razvozhaev has traditionally announced the shooting down of aerial targets over the peninsula.

Special operations to destroy Russian military bases and enemy equipment are increasingly being carried out in occupied Crimea. On the night of May 15, there were explosions reported in Sevastopol, with media sources claiming that the attack was targeted at the Belbek airfield, potentially aimed at Russian planes. The Russians, as usual, have claimed that ATACMS missiles hit the peninsula but have also asserted that their air defense system successfully intercepted them.