Republic of Crimea

Explosions and fires ripped through an ammunition depot in Russian-occupied Crimea on Tuesday in the second suspected Ukrainian attack on the peninsula in just over a week, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.

Russia blamed the blasts in the village of Mayskoye on an "act of sabotage," without naming the perpetrators.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Explosions hit Russian military airbase in annexed Crimea

One person has been killed and several others wounded in an explosion at a military airbase in the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula.

"Crimea is part of Russia. If a NATO country invades the territory, it will lead to World War III".

This was announced by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in an interview with the news site "Argumenty i Fakty ", quoted by Reuters.

The Ukrainian army hit drilling points at about 8 o'clock this morning at the Ukrainian company Chornomornaftogaz, which was taken over by Russia in 2014, said the so-called leader of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov. According to him, there are five people who fell into the water, three of whom were injured, and the Russian army is looking for an unknown number of workers.

This was announced today by the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov.
"The new Ukrainian version of the agreement does not state that Ukraine's security guarantees do not apply to Crimea and Sevastopol, so Ukraine is proposing that leaders of both sides discuss those territories, which is unacceptable for Russia," Lavrov said.

According to the BBC report, Polyansky said that part of Ukraine's offer to give up NATO ambitions and become a neutral country in exchange for security guarantees and freezing the status of Crimea for the next 15 years is being rejected.

The 2014 invasion of Ukraine and seizure of the Crimean Peninsula is the top reason why the U.S. has sanctioned Russian individuals

According to world media, the Russians are deploying troops in the western part of the country and in Belarus.
CNN points out that this continued pressure on Ukraine from three directions has heightened fears that the Kremlin is indeed planning an invasion.

Russia's armed forces today launched a new series of exercises near Ukraine and annexed Crimea. The maneuvers involved 6,000 servicemen, as well as fighters and bombers, AFP reported, citing Russian news agencies.

Ukraine Summoned the Bulgarian Ambassador due to President Radev's Statement on Crimea

"The United States welcomed the clarification of the position of Bulgarian President [Rumen] Radev yesterday, which confirmed that the country stands behind the territorial integrity of Ukraine and made it clear that Crimea belongs to Ukraine."