Kyiv almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Smoke rises over a fuel tank following an alleged drone attack in Sevastopol, Crimea, April 29, 2023.
(photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)

A Ukrainian military intelligence official said on Saturday more than 10 tanks of oil products with a capacity of around 40,000 tonnes were destroyed in an explosion on the Russian-occupied port of Sevastopol on April 29, RBC Ukraine reported.

The official, Andriy Yusov, did not claim Ukraine was responsible for the explosion in comments reported by RBC, instead describing the blast as “God’s punishment” for a Russian strike on a Ukrainian city on Friday.

“According to preliminary information, the fire was caused by a drone hit,” Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Annexed territory by Russia

Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has come under repeated air attacks since Russia’s full-fledged invasion of its neighbor in February 2022. Russian officials have blamed the attacks on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Kyiv almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

A view shows Russian warships on sunset ahead of the Navy Day parade in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Crimea July 27, 2019 (credit: REUTERS/ALEXEY PAVLISHAK)

Razvozhaev said no one was hurt in Saturday’s fire.

“The situation is under the control of our firefighters and all operative services,” he wrote. “Since the volume of fuel is large, it will take time to localize the fire.”

As reported by The Jerusalem Post