The Russian-installed governor stated a fire broke out Wednesday at a military training ground in annexed Crimea, leading authorities to urge the evacuation of almost 2,000 civilians.
Authorities could not specify the cause of the fire, although some Russian media reported that detonations were heard in the region and that footage showed columns of black smoke in the sky.
The disclosure comes only days after Ukraine utilized aquatic drones to attack the Kerch Bridge, a vital military supply route from mainland Russia to occupied Crimea.
“A temporary evacuation of four Kirovsky district localities adjacent to the military field is planned. That’s over 2,000 people”, said Crimea’s Moscow-installed head, Sergei Aksyonov.
Due to the fire, a portion of the Tavrida highway that spans the peninsula was closed.
Authorities were conducting a temporary evacuation of residents from four settlements, he claimed, affecting almost 2,000 individuals.
Footage purportedly showing footage of the incident was released on the Telegram account of state-backed Izvestia Daily, which showed plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky.
Detonations were heard in the vicinity for more than two hours.
According to Nikolay Lukashenko from Crimea’s transport ministry, bus transportation on interregional routes had been temporarily redirected.
The Tavrida highway connects the eastern Crimean port of Kerch with Sevastopol on the peninsula’s Black Sea coast in the west.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that was not recognized by the international community.
Kyiv has stated numerous times that it intends to retake the peninsula.
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