After several explosions occurred at a Russian air force base in Crimea on Tuesday, the American company Planet Labs presented satellite images that are said to show the destruction of fighter jets, which Moscow has previously denied.
The images, apparently taken on Wednesday, show craters in several places where buildings and aircraft previously stood.
Fire damage is clearly visible, as are at least eight burnt-out wreckages of fighter planes.
Nicholas Zimmerman
Editor in Politics.
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Russia continues to vehemently deny any destruction by Ukrainian forces.
As the American Institute for the Study of War writes, Russian media, military bloggers and government agencies contradict each other with possible explanations as to why the explosions were not caused by a Ukrainian attack.
They range from the Department of Defense's version of an explosion of ammunition, to an act of sabotage with a small helicopter, to plain human carelessness.
The government in Kyiv has not yet taken responsibility for the explosions on the Russian-occupied peninsula.
"Officially, we don't confirm anything and we don't deny anything," said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak.
Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov speculated that Russian soldiers smoked "in dangerous places".
On Thursday, Belarus also denied reports of nighttime explosions at an airbase about 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
"During a test run, a vehicle caught fire in which the engine had been replaced," said the Ministry of Defense in Minsk.
The fire the night before was extinguished "in good time" and there were no injuries.
Russian military aircraft are said to be frequently stationed at the base.