London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Crimea blasts significantly hit Russian navy, says UK

Crimea blasts significantly hit Russian navy, says UK

Blasts at a Russian-operated airfield in Crimea this week have "significantly degraded" its navy's Black Sea fleet, the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) says.
The Saky base in the west of Russian-ruled Crimea was rocked by a string of blasts on Tuesday, killing one person.

The blasts led to the loss of eight Russian combat jets, the MoD said in its daily intelligence update.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility, but satellite images suggest the possibility of a targeted attack.

The cause of the blasts is unclear, but at least five fighter-bombers and three multi-role jets were "almost certainly destroyed or seriously damaged", the statement says.

The loss of eight combat jets will make only a minor dent in Moscow's overall fleet of aircraft, but will be a significant setback to the Russian Navy's Black Sea fleet, it says.

"The fleet's naval aviation capability is now significantly degraded," the ministry adds.

The Saky fleet is used to engage Ukrainian fighters in southern Ukraine and probably carries out assessment work further east.

Some of the bombers travelled from the base to Mariupol, the port city largely destroyed by Russian shelling, before it fell into Moscow's hands in May.

Russia denied that any of its aircraft were damaged in the blasts, but satellite images suggest otherwise.

This is the second major blow to Russia's Black Sea fleet. In April, its flagship missile cruiser, the Moskva, sank after being "seriously damaged".

Ukraine said it struck the vessel with its Neptune missiles, while Moscow claimed ammunition on board exploded in an unexplained fire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told officials to stop talking to reporters about Kyiv's military tactics in the wake of the Crimea blasts.

The New York Times and Washington Post have cited unidentified officials as saying Ukrainian forces were responsible, but its defense minister has suggested that careless Russian soldiers could be to blame.

"War is definitely not the time for vanity and loud statements. The fewer details you divulge about our defense plans, the better it will be for the implementation of those defense plans," Zelensky said in an evening address.

Any attack by Ukraine inside Crimea would be seen as an escalation of the war. Russia sounded a warning last month when ex-President Dmitry Medvedev threatened that "Judgement Day will instantly await" if Ukraine targeted Crimea.

Aside from Crimea, Zelensky urged the international community to act immediately to "chase out" Russian troops from the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant - the biggest in Europe.

"Only the Russians' full withdrawal... would guarantee nuclear safety for all of Europe," he added, condemning "Russian nuclear blackmail".

Staff at the occupied plant have described to the BBC being kept at gunpoint while Russian troops use it as a military base.

Elsewhere, the Turkish defense ministry says the first shipment of Ukrainian wheat to leave the country since Russia's invasion has set sail bound for Turkey. It was one of two ships to leave Ukraine's Black Sea ports on Friday.

A total of 14 ships have made it past Russia's naval blockade under a UN-brokered deal with Moscow.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
×