Kyiv [Ukraine], July 23 : A Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea blew up an ammunition depot, forcing an evacuation of the area, according to CNN citing information from Russian-backed authorities.
The videos posted on the online space, showed a cloud of thick black smoke rising not far from a railway station in the town of Oktiabrske in the centre of Crimea. In one of the videos, at least three loud explosions can be heard.
Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of the peninsula, said a drone had struck an ammunition storage facility, which forced him to order the evacuation of everyone within a 5-kilometre (about 3-mile) radius, as well as the cancellation of several train services, as per CNN.
There were no initial reports of casualties, he said.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Crimean Tatar national movement in Ukraine, Refat Chubarov — who is currently working from Ukrainian-controlled territory outside Crimea — said that the residents of the town, which is Buyuk Onlar in the Crimean Tatar language, were ordered to move to another village about 7 miles away after Saturday's strike.
"Residents of the village of Büyük Onlar, where explosions are intensifying as a result of a strike on the ammunition and military equipment warehouse of the Russian occupation army, are being urgently evacuated to the villages of the district," Chubarov said.
On the other side, Ukrainian officials claimed that Russia shelled in the northeastern Kharkiv region, killing two people.
Russia's shelling struck the city of Kupyansk, according to the Kharkiv regional prosecutor’s office.
In the shelling, a 57-year-old woman was among those killed and a business' property was also damaged in the city, the office added in a Telegram post.
Russia also shelled the town of Dvorichna, just north of Kupyansk, CNN quoted the prosecutor's office as saying.
“A 60-year-old man was injured. He was admitted to the hospital. A 45-year-old civilian was killed,” the office said.
And early Saturday on Telegram, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said a 30-year-old man was wounded by Russian shelling in Velykyi Burluk, east of Kharkiv city.
In areas surrounding Kupyansk, Ukraine's fighters "reliably hold their positions," Syniehubov said. "The enemy has not advanced."
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