Washington post are reporting it was ukrainian SOF
A Ukrainian government official told The Washington Post on Wednesday that an airfield explosion in occupied Crimea was the work of Ukrainian special forces.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, did not disclose details on how the Tuesday attack was carried out. However, the attack marks a dramatic escalation in the nearly six-month-old war, demonstrating an ability by Ukrainian forces to strike at Russia far from front lines.
The explosions rocked a Russian air base Tuesday, close to an area of beach resorts in occupied Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces have been known to infiltrate enemy-held territory and coordinate with sympathetic locals on the ground. Guerrilla activity has been especially prevalent in the occupied southern Kherson region, just north of Crimea. In the Ukraine war, a battle for the nation’s mineral and energy wealth.
An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially distanced Kyiv from the attack on Tuesday, however, in a nightly address to the nation Zelensky vowed to win back the territory. “Crimea is Ukrainian, and we will never give it up,” he said, without mentioning the air base strike.
Russia has said the blast was caused by an ammunition explosion and reportedly killed at least one and injured at least nine, including two children. The Ukrainian Air Force in a statement Wednesday said that nine Russian aircraft were taken out in the strikes.
The Washington Post could not independently verify the claims from either side.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told The Post Tuesday that it appeared Ukrainian forces had carried out the strike but using a weapon not provided by the United States. U.S. officials referred additional questions about the operation to Ukraine.