Did Ukraine Strike Crimea Base With Storm Shadow Missiles? What We Know

Explosions at Russian military training grounds in the Kirovske district of the annexed Crimean peninsula have fueled speculation that Ukraine struck the base with Storm Shadow missiles.

The Kremlin-installed head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said a fire broke out at a military training ground and that more than 2,000 residents were being evacuated. Russian Telegram channels linked to Russian security services reported multiple blasts at the base, but Aksyonov didn't elaborate on the cause of the fire.

Although Ukraine hasn't claimed responsibility for an attack on the Crimea base, some Russian military bloggers and Telegram channels have suggested that Kyiv could have struck the facility using long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

In May, the United Kingdom donated the long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine ahead of its counteroffensive launched in early June to capture occupied Russian territory. Fabian Hoffmann, a missile technology expert, tweeted in May that the missiles have the potential to strike the Kerch Strait Bridge—Russia's sole link to annexed Crimea, which Ukraine hopes to recapture in a counteroffensive.

Both the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Rybar, which has 1.1 million subscribers and the Wagner Group-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone said the strike was carried out with Storm Shadow missiles. Telegram channel Brief, which covers internal Kremlin politics, also reported the same.

Newsweek reached out to the foreign ministries of Russia and Ukraine via email for comment.

No evidence has emerged so far to suggest that the missiles were used. Ukraine has not commented on the purported attack, and Moscow hasn't yet pointed a finger at Kyiv. But on Wednesday morning, a fabricated statement circulated on social media appeared to show the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, claiming responsibility.

The message, posted by a Telegram channel posing as Budanov, said: "The enemy hides the extent of the damage and the number of casualties. I thank the Ukrainian patriots in Crimea for the additional information and the video of the joint work of the GUR and the Armed Forces."

Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence agency GUR, said that the account is fake and has nothing to do with Ukrainian intelligence and Budanov.

Tensions are at a high in the Black Sea peninsula—which was annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014—after the Kerch bridge was hit with explosions, causing part of the structure to collapse, and killing a couple from Russia's Belgorod region.

Moscow blamed Ukraine for that attack, and Putin has vowed retaliation.

The road and rail bridge, built after Russia's annexation of Crimea, was previously damaged in an explosion in October 2022. It is a crucial supply route for Russia's forces.

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