Powerful explosions echoed across occupied Crimea on the morning of 16 May, shaking Sevastopol, Perevalnoye and coastal towns from Yalta to Alupka. Local outlet Krymskiy Veter reports that both the Belbek and Kacha military airfields near Sevastopol came under drone attack, followed by a blaze at the ammunition depot of military unit 12676 in Perevalnoye. Video footage shows towering flames at the depot, prompting closure of the Simferopol–Alushta road and dispatch of numerous ambulances.
Partisan group Atesh confirmed strikes on the 126th Separate Guards Coastal Defence Brigade’s base and the 8th Separate Artillery Regiment’s warehouses. These facilities store weapons, equipment and possibly fuel. Atesh agents had been monitoring the site since summer 2024, noting a lack of air defence cover at the time. Krymskiy Veter cites sources reporting Russian servicemen killed in the depot explosions.
Sevastopol Gauleiter Mikhail Razvozhayev claimed the blasts resulted from Russian air defences intercepting six UAVs over the sea, well offshore. Whether these were attack drones or reconnaissance models remains unclear. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Armed Forces recently destroyed a radar station for the S 400 Triumph system near Saky, signalling continued pressure on the peninsula’s air defences.
Ukrainian Volunteer Army spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk remarks that Russia has been pouring air defence systems into Crimea for months, viewing the peninsula as a critical logistics hub for operations in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and along the Dnipro. He describes this phase as one of demilitarisation of Crimea, targeting the resource base that sustains the Russian dictator’s war machine.
