Ukraine says Russian missiles destroyed in Crimea

An explosion in the north of annexed Crimea has destroyed Russian missiles being transported by rail, Ukraine's defence ministry has said.

The Russian-installed head of the city of Dzhankoi said the area had been attacked by drones.

Ukraine announced the explosions but, as is normal, did not explicitly say it was behind the attack.

If confirmed, it would be a rare foray by Ukraine's military into Crimea, which has been annexed since 2014.

Russia has suffered attacks in Crimea before, but in most cases, responsibility has either been unacknowledged by Ukraine or blamed on some kind of partisan sabotage.

This strike, if confirmed, suggests that the capacity of the Ukrainian air force to deploy drones has increased.

Until now, Crimea has largely seemed out of the range of Ukrainian missiles. But this attack indicates that a drone at least can reach deeper behind Russian lines than previously thought.

The "mysterious" explosions destroyed Russian Kalibr-NK cruise missiles, intended for use by Russia's Black Sea Fleet, Ukrainian defence intelligence said. Kailbr missiles have been widely used in attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure in recent months.