Ukraine Says Russian Cruise Missiles Destroyed In Annexed Crimea, Russia Says Civilians Targeted

"An explosion in Dzhankoi city in the north of temporarily occupied Crimea destroyed Russian Kalibr-KN cruise missiles as they were being transported by rail," Ukraine’s intelligence agency said.

New Delhi: Ukraine's defence ministry on Monday reported the destruction of Russian cruise missiles in Dzhankoi in the north of the Crimean peninsula as they were being transported by rail for use by Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea, the news agency Reuters reported.

According to a statement posted by the Ukrainian military agency on its website, multiple Kalibr cruise missiles were destroyed by an explosion, without explicitly saying Ukraine was responsible or what weapon had been used for the blast.

"An explosion in Dzhankoi city in the north of temporarily occupied Crimea destroyed Russian Kalibr-KN cruise missiles as they were being transported by rail," Ukraine’s intelligence agency said. It further stated that the missiles were destined for submarine launch by the Russian Black Sea fleet.

The statement on social media said the missiles had an operational range of more than 2,500 kms (1,550 miles) on land and 375 kms (233 miles) at sea.

According to Reuters, a Russian-installed official in the peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014, said that the blast was caused by drones laced with shrapnel and explosives and targeted civilian sites. One person was injured in the explosion.

Ihor Ivin, head of the Dzhankoi administration, was quoted as saying the city had come under attack from drones and a 33-year-old man suffered a shrapnel injury from a downed drone. He was taken to hospital and expected to survive.

TASS quoted Ivin as saying on Krym-24 TV that a house, school and grocery store caught fire, and the power grid sustained damage, according to Reuters.

Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russia-installed head of Crimea, said the drone attack was aimed at civilian targets.

"All the drones targeted civilian sites. One was hit over the Dzhankoi technical school and came down between the instruction area and a student residence," he said on his Telegram channel, as reported by Reuters.

"There are no military sites nearby. The others were downed in residential areas. In addition to explosives, each one carried shrapnel," he added.

Ukraine has carried out a series of daring attacks against Crimea. Last August, missiles damaged several planes at an air facility on the peninsula's southwestern coast, and Ukrainian authorities eventually claimed responsibility for the attack.