Crimea 'sabotage' highlights Russia's woes in Ukraine war

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A spate of fires and explosions has turned Russian-annexed Crimea from a secure base for the further invasion of Ukraine into the latest flashpoint highlighting Moscow's challenges ahead in a war that is nearing the half-year mark.

A statement from British defense intelligence Wednesday that “Russian commanders will highly likely be increasingly concerned with the apparent deterioration in security across Crimea, which functions as rear base area for the occupation.”

Even Russia itself acknowledged it was an “act of sabotage” that caused Tuesday's explosions and fires that ripped through an ammunition depot near Dzhankoi in once-secure Crimea, leading to chaotic scenes when around 3,000 people had to be evacuated.

As a vivid reminder of Russia's vulnerability in Crimea, detonations at the depot near Dzhankoi were still continuing Wednesday.

A week earlier, Russia's military in Crimea already came under pressure when Ukraine said nine Russian warplanes were destroyed following explosions. At the time, Moscow still offered the possibility of a wayward cigarette butt as the cause.

No such explanations would suffice anymore as the war, which had long centered on brutal fighting in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, has now given southern Crimea increasing importance.

Worsening the outlook in Crimea was a report by the Kommersant business paper, that explosions had also taken place near Gvardeyskoye in the center of the peninsula. By Wednesday, there still was no comment from the Russian authorities.

The British intelligence report said Gvardeyskoye and Dzhankoi “are home to two of the most important Russian military airfields in Crimea.”

Ukraine has stopped short of claiming responsibility for any of the blasts, including those at another Crimean air...