Ukraine, Russia trade claims after blast rocks Crimean town

By KARL RITTER
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian and Ukrainian officials have given conflicting accounts of what appeared to be a brazen attack on Russian cruise missiles being transported by train in Moscow-annexed Crimea. A Ukrainian military spokesperson hinted that Kyiv was behind the explosion late Monday that reportedly destroyed multiple Kalibr missiles near the town of Dzhankoi. While the remarks by Natalia Humeniuk echoed an earlier statement from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, both stopped short of claiming responsibility. Russian-installed authorities in Crimea, by contrast, denied that an attack on the railway took place, and said that a Ukrainian drone strike targeted civilian infrastructure in Dzhankoi.