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Ukraine war: Crimea airbase badly damaged, satellite images show

August 10th 2022

Satellite images appear to show extensive damage and several destroyed Russian warplanes at a Crimea airbase following explosions earlier this week. The Saky base in the west of Russian-ruled Crimea was rocked by a string of blasts on Tuesday, killing one person. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility – but this new evidence suggests the possibility of a targeted attack. The images, from the US-based Planet Labs, show large areas of scorched earth left from fires that erupted. The base’s main runways seem to be intact, but at least eight aircraft appear to be damaged and destroyed, with several craters clearly visible. Most of them are in a specific area of the base where a large number of planes were parked out in the open – away from the cover of hangars.

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Russian airbase on western coast of Crimea damaged in explosions

August 9th 2022

A Russian airbase deep behind the frontline in Crimea has been damaged by several large explosions, killing at least one person, although it was not immediately clear whether it had been targeted by a long-range Ukrainian missile strike. Multiple social media videos showed explosions and clouds emerging from the Saky military base in Novofedorivka on the western coast of Crimea on Tuesday afternoon, prompting questions about how a location more than 100 miles (160km) from the frontline could have been attacked. Later a senior Ukrainian official appeared to claim responsibility, without giving details. Russia’s defence ministry told the RIA Novosti news agency that the explosions took place at about 3.20pm local time, and that “several aviation munitions detonated” in a storage area. It said it was trying to discern the cause of the incident. Russian tourists holidaying on beaches nearby could be seen leaving in fear. It is one of few occasions that the peninsula, occupied by Russia since 2014, has been directly affected by the latest fighting. Local people told one Russian news site that explosions went on for an hour.

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Fact Check: Is North Korea Sending 100K Soldiers to Fight Against Ukraine?

August 8th 2022

As Russian forces struggle to make new gains in Ukraine amid intense fighting and reported low morale among its troops, Moscow has reportedly turned to its allies for support. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, media and intelligence reports have claimed that Russia has received military support from Syria, some Kremlin-friendly African republics and Iran, which was reported to have supplied its combat UAVs to Russia (but has so far denied the claims). North Korea is another close ally of the Kremlin, but recent media reports that Pyongyang is prepared to send a 100,000-strong army of “volunteer” soldiers to fight in Ukraine have raised some eyebrows.

The Claim

Dozens of media users claimed over the past few days that as many as 100,000 “volunteers” from North Korea were offered to Moscow for its military operation in Ukraine. “Breaking: North Korea has just offered Russia 100,000 troops to help defeat Ukraine according to Russian state media,” one tweet stated.

The Facts