Satellite view shows Crimea airbase heavily damaged

• Images are the first independent confirmation that the base has been damaged.
• Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, but Russia has suggested careless soldiers may be to blame.
• Many Ukrainians see this as the start of their conflict with Russia.

Satellite images of Crimea airbase appear to show extensive damage and several destroyed Russian warplanes following explosions earlier this week.

On Tuesday, a series of explosions rocked the Saky base in western Russian-ruled Crimea, killing one person.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, but this new evidence suggests a targeted attack.

Planet Labs’ images show large areas of scorched earth left by raging fires.

The main runways of the base appear to be intact, but at least eight aircraft appear to be damaged or destroyed, with several craters clearly visible.

The majority of them are in a specific area of the base where a large number of planes were parked in the open – away from the protection of hangars.

Planet Labs’ before and after images, which monitor hundreds of satellite feeds over Ukraine, are the first independent confirmation that the base has been damaged. Until now, information on the extent of the explosions’ impact has been scarce.

However, it is still unknown how or by what the base was damaged.

Russia maintains that the explosions were caused by ammunition exploding in a store due to fire safety rules being broken.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, and its defence minister has suggested that careless Russian soldiers may be to blame.

“I think that Russian military guys in this airbase ruined their very simply known rule: don’t smoke in dangerous places,” said Oleksiy Reznikov. “That’s it.”

Ukraine’s air force said about a dozen Russian warplanes were destroyed, though Russia denied any aircraft were damaged. These new images suggest otherwise.

The fact that there were two separate explosions, according to UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, points to an attack rather than an accident. He also defended Ukraine’s right to target Crimea.

“It’s absolutely legitimate for Ukraine to take lethal force, if necessary… in order to regain not only its territory, but also to push back its invader,” he told the BBC.

Any attack by Ukraine inside Crimea would be considered an escalation of the conflict. Russia issued a warning last month when ex-President Dmitry Medvedev threatened that “Judgement Day will instantly await” if Ukraine targeted Crimea.

Although Crimea is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula in 2014. Many Ukrainians see this as the start of their conflict with Russia.

Following Tuesday’s explosions, President Volodymyr Zelensky dedicated his nightly address to Crimea, implying that Ukraine must retake the peninsula before the war can end.

Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, after the territory’s Russian-speaking majority voted to join Russia in an illegal referendum.

The vote was hurriedly organised after unidentified Russian troops took control of several strategic sites on the peninsula.

Russia annexed Crimea after Ukraine’s Russian-backed president was deposed following months of pro-European protests.

On February 24, this year, eight years after the annexation of Crimea, Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, using Crimea as a springboard to move Russian troops deeper inside Ukraine.