On Tuesday night, a Russian airbase near seaside resorts in the annexed Crimean peninsula was rocked by blasts that Moscow said were detonations of stored ammunition and not the result of any attack, and one person was killed.
Witnesses said they had heard 12 explosions at around 3.20 pm local time 12.20 pm GMT from the Saky airbase near Novofedorivka on the west coast of the peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 and used in February as one of the launchpads for its invasion.
Crimea, a holiday destination for many Russians, has so far been spared from the bombardment and artillery combat that other areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have suffered.
Russia's defence ministry was adamant that the detonation of several aviation ammunition stores had caused an explosion, and initially said no one had been harmed. It said there had been no attack and no aviation equipment had been damaged.