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Ukraine official claims that 60 pilots & techs were killed at Crimea air baseNYT A senior Ukrainian official suggested on Friday that the casualty toll from explosions at an air base in Crimea this week was far higher than previous estimates, further contradicting a Russian account about damage at a site that has been a vital jumping-off point for Moscow’s military operations since its invasion of Ukraine began in late February. The official, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the minister of internal affairs, said that 60 pilots and technicians had been killed and 100 people wounded when a series of explosions rocked the Saki field on Crimea’s western Black Sea coast on Tuesday. He said the conclusion was based on video evidence and intelligence data, but he offered no further details. There has been no independent confirmation of the toll, and most experts have focused on estimating the damage to Russian military equipment. Satellite photos released by Planet Labs, a satellite imaging company, appear to show at least eight wrecked war planes and three blast craters in areas where planes were parked near the runways. .... ... Judging by the way the cars were damaged by the explosion, shrapnel and fire, there is no chance that any plane made of delicate, thin magnesium and aluminum alloy remained intact,” Mr. Gerashchenko said of the Crimea explosions. A British military intelligence report said on Friday that at least five fighter bombers and three multi-role jets had been “almost certainly destroyed or seriously damaged” in the blasts, which it said had resulted from the detonation of up to four uncovered munition storage areas. .... |
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Msg # | Subject | Author | Recs | Date Posted |
2192 | Re: official claims ...at Crimea air base // Bombers? | moveuplots | 2 | 8/18/2022 6:53:46 PM |