Moscow provoked: Kyiv has crossed the line? PHOTO/VIDEO

Moscow provoked: Kyiv has crossed the line? PHOTO/VIDEO

Witnesses said they heard at least 12 explosions around 3:20 p.m. local time (12:20 GMT) from the Saki Air Base near Novofedorovka on the peninsula's west coast.

Crimea, a holiday destination for many Russians, has so far been spared the bombing and artillery fire that other areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have suffered.

The Russian Defense Ministry stood by its claim that the explosion was caused by the "detonation of several aviation ammunition depots" and initially said no one was injured. It said that there was no attack and that the plane's equipment was not damaged.

Asked if Ukraine was taking responsibility for the explosions, adviser to the Ukrainian president Mykhailo Podolyak told the online TV channel Dozhd: "Of course not. What do we have to do with it?" Moscow could accuse Kyiv of crossing a red line if Ukraine admits it invaded territory Russia claims as its own.

Podolyak, who advises President Volodymyr Zelensky, suggested that the explosion could be the result of Russian incompetence or a partisan attack.

"People living under occupation understand that the occupation is coming to an end," he said. However, a Ukrainian military official told the New York Times that the Ukrainian attack resulted in explosions in Crimea.

It is a military base from which Russian planes regularly took off and attacked our forces in the south of the country. A Ukrainian-made device was used for the attack.