Ukraine MoD says it could not establish cause of fire on Russia's Novofedorivka airfield

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Tuesday, Aug 9 stated that it could not identify the cause of the massive fire on the Russian military's airfield in Novofedorivka in Saky district, Crimea. In a Facebook post, Ukraine's MoD stressed that the rules of fire safety and the prohibition of smoking were implemented at the time a huge fire broke out at the airbase. Russia’s state news agency Tass had claimed that Russia's ministry of defence blamed the explosions’ primary cause being the “violation of fire safety requirements.” No warplanes were damaged, they said, denying that Saki base on the Black Sea had been shelled. 

"Regarding the fire on the territory of Saky airfield near the settlement of Novofedorivka in Crimea temporarily occupied by Russia, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense cannot determine the cause of the fire, but once again reminds of the rules of fire safety and the prohibition of smoking in unidentified places," the ministry said on Facebook.

Fire could be used by Russian Federation as 'information war': Ukraine's MoD

The footage circulating online depicted the civilians fleeing the scene at a nearby beach as huge flames and a black thick plume of smoke arose from the Crimean airbase. Ukraine's MoD sarcastically denied taking responsibility saying that they could not find what caused the blazes. Several such fires and explosions at Russian munitions storage sites near the Ukrainian border were found to have been caused by the retaliatory Ukrainian strikes.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry stressed that the recent fire incident can be used by the Russian Federation as an "information war." "We do not exclude that the occupiers will ‘accidentally’ find some characteristic ‘chevron’, ‘business card’ or even ‘DNA’. On occasion, please note that cotton clothing is very hygienic. Keep calm and trust the Armed Forces of Ukraine!" Ukraine's MoD wrote on Facebook. Powerful explosions were heard at a Russian air base in Crimea on Tuesday, killing at least one person and wounding several others, authorities said. Associated Press speculated that if the base was, in fact, struck by the Ukrainians, "it would mark the first known major attack on a Russian military site on the Crimean Peninsula — annexed by the Kremlin in 2014 — and a significant escalation of the conflict."