In the night between Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 July, a fire broke out in a Russian military range in the Kirovske district, in the south-eastern part of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014 through a sham referendum. The fire involved the ammunition depot causing several explosions. Residents in the area said they heard banging around 4:30 am and saw heavy smoke coming from the area. More than 2,000 residents of the area have been evacuated and a section of the Tavridy highway which connects the area with the cities of Simferopol and Sevastopol has been closed. The fire occurred two days after the attack that damaged the Crimean bridge, probably by the Ukrainian army.
The causes that caused the fire are not yet known. Russian Prime Minister of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov he said that it is still being investigated and that no one was hurt. Second Reuters, Russian Telegram channels linked to Russian security services and Ukrainian media claim it was triggered by a Ukrainian airstrike. At the moment there have been no official claims.