Ukrainian president warns citizens to stay away from Russian military facilities

By Rabia Iclal Turan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Ukrainian president has warned Ukrainians to be careful against explosions after Tuesday’s blasts in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

“I am now asking all our people in Crimea, in other regions in the south of the country, in the occupied areas of Donbas, in the Kharkiv region to be very careful. Please do not approach the military objects of the Russian army and all those places where they store ammunition and equipment, where they keep their headquarters,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address late Tuesday.

He added: "To expel Russians from Ukrainian territory, every day must make it more and more difficult for Russia to wage a war."

Russia blamed saboteurs for explosions at one of its ammunition depots in Dzhankoi, Crimea. According to its Defense Ministry, the blasts damaged civilian objects, including power lines, power plants, railway tracks, and residential buildings.

In what some call a prelude to the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine, launched on Feb. 24, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, in a move condemned by the US, EU, UN General Assembly, as well as Türkiye.